


Taking the Initiative (draft)

by SilverStark



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen or Pre-Slash, Genderswap, Rule 63, alwaysagirl!tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-02-16
Packaged: 2019-03-19 13:29:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13705437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverStark/pseuds/SilverStark
Summary: Iron Woman has to deal with the fallout of the fall of SHIELD and the emergence of AIM.In which Tony Stark has always been a girl. A Fix-it for the trajectory of the MCU. Post Iron Man 3 and Captain America 2. but the timeline is kind of compressed so that the events of those two movies happen almost simultaneously. There is MCU-Extremis and Janet Van Dyne. Some Pepper/Tony.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first attempt at a multi chapter fic/series in the Avengers universe. I'm posting it way way too late and mostly because I was afraid Infinity War would beat me to the Extremis punch.
> 
> ETA on 02/27/2018: This is a draft- in hindsight, I'd like to make some major edits. I didn't want to delete it but fyi I may in the future.

The first thing that the press noted about Toni Stark after her quiet hospitalization was that her boobs appeared to be back to their pre-Afghanistan configuration.

Toni felt a moment of genuine surprise when she figured out what the discordant mob was shouting about. She reflected on the progression of her life from society girl to superhero. Who would have thought she would ever be thrown by allegations of a boob job? To be fair, the general public had never known about the arc reactor, let alone Extremis.

“Can you make a statement today, Toni?” a breathless reporter asked.

She managed to rein back a grin. “I can neither confirm nor deny whether I’ve had surgery to augment the size of my breasts.”

Toni, smiling widely and blowing kisses, let Pepper take her arm and guide her into the art benefit.

Pepper began, under her breath. “I caught the tail end of that-”

“Don’t worry, I was responsible.”

“They looked excited. Paparazzi only look excited around you when-”

“Trust me, I can use this.”

“The public has just begun to trust you again.”

“Oh, the public will love this.” And even better, Toni loved it. It was a nice little cover up for her modified Extremis injection. It wouldn’t fool any real threats, but it would satisfy the general public enough that they would stop asking questions. “Who are we doing this for?”

“I thought you had a speech ready.”

“I always have a speech ready. Remembering the correct name is your job.”

“I thought I’d gotten a promotion.”

“Check your schedule. Tonight, you’re here as my girlfriend, not my CEO.”

They went indoors soon enough and Toni read the charity name off a banner. She had planned to give the kind of speech that New York expected from Toni Stark, but a look at Pepper’s face changed her mind. Toni made an effort at decency in the name of science. The customary applause confirmed Toni’s directional hypothesis that no one cared. She supposed this was satisfying in its way.

At least the host had listened. He shook her hand and asked her, “Are you trying to impress someone special in the crowd here tonight, Ms. Stark?”

The crowed murmured. Toni smiled and demurred. “I don’t think I really need to try.”

The crowd laughed. After a quick statement from the host, Toni was allowed to take a seat next to Pepper.

“Hey, someone on the guest list I should know about? I deserve a reward, by the way. I was ready to say ‘Oh, I just promised someone I’d do the speech sober,’ but I decided, for my Pepper-”

“And you need an excuse for potential rudeness later,” a soft voice guessed from the other side of Pepper.

“Bruce!” she whisper-shouted. Okay, maybe squealed. Being enthusiastic was difficult when you were trying to be quiet.

“Hi, Toni.”

“Blasphemy, I never need an excuse for rudeness. I’m-”

“Toni Stark,” he and Pepper chorused.

“At least in polite company,” Pepper added preemptively. “Now, shall we be silent until the host has finished?”

Toni acquiesced with only a pout. Bruce chuckled and soon after that the host finished talking and they were allowed to get up. Pepper wandered off somewhere to let Toni and Bruce bond, presumably.

Toni immediately took the opportunity to joke “Who’s this sexy beast you’ve unleashed?”

“Pepper promised the event would have a quiet atmosphere. Also…” Bruce looked guilty, and Toni had a bad feeling about that because Bruce tended to avoid doing things that made him feel guilty. “She promised that you would be sober tonight. So that you could help me around when she couldn’t.”

“Pepper Potts,” Toni swore. It felt satisfying. This was her new favorite curse word. It served Pepper right. “I’ve been outmaneuvered. You helped her outmaneuver me.” 

He raised both hands, but he was also smiling. Bruce was amused. The night was not going at all the way she expected it would. “She maneuvered both of us. I was told you wanted me to be here.” 

“Hey, that’s not fair. Of course I wanted you here. I want all my friends here. Rhodey’s a loser for not coming.”

“Just who are you calling a loser, now?”

Rhodey scowled at her, but he held out his arms once she was within hugging range.

“Rhodeybear. Clearly, I meant the other, hypothetical, in absentia, Rhodey.” 

“I thought you’d left this backstabbing gossip habit behind in high school.”

“I can’t help it, babe, you make me feel young.”

“Then maybe we should hang out less. For the good of the world.”

Bruce chuckled.

“We’ll be fine. Bruce makes me feel old so there’s a counterbalance there.”

“I make you feel old?”

“It’s the lack of experience. You need to get out more, big guy. I say this from the bottom of my heart, I mean, that’s why I’m choosing to- that’s why I’m sacrificing an entire night’s worth of booze. Because I’m a selfless, charitable, thoughtful-”

“Genius, billionaire, sex symbol, philanthropist,” Rhodey finished.

“I was going to say ‘friend,’ and how do you even know about that?” she demanded.

“You told me all about the Avengers Initiative during our last drunken whine/brag.” He turned to Bruce “She says you’re her new favorite lab assistant since I’m out of town so often.”

“We do spend a lot of our time together in the lab.”

“Uh huh,” Rhodey noted, raising an eyebrow at Toni. “Have you collaborated on anything interesting lately?”

“Aww, are you jealous because we haven’t worked on War Machine recently?”

Rhodey snorted, “As if I’d let you and your bots touch my armor again. Last time I let Toni update my suit, I came back to find my shoulder gun missing.”

“It’s dumb-looking. And it’s not aerodynamic, you don’t know how much it pains me to see that mounted on my design.”

“It pains you?”

“And-!” she said over his protest.

“Try coming back to your armor and finding parts missing.” 

She snorted at his euphemism. “-and I still replaced it when you threw your hissy fit. I put a new, better, stupid shoulder gun on your suit. You should be thanking me.” 

“Don’t hold your breath.”

“Oh, I won’t. You are reliably ungrateful.”

Both Bruce and Rhodey started laughing, and she grinned because they were both laughing. She spotted Pepper coming their way with Happy in tow.

“And now, to demonstrate proper gratitude protocol. Pepper!”

Pepper smiled at her enthusiasm. “Having fun?”

“You betcha. I even forgive you for the coerced sobriety thing. You should have told me we’d all be here together. You clean up nicely, Happy.”

“Pepper picked out the suit,” he explained with a blush.

“I told you it would be a special occasion,” Pepper reminded her.

“Yes, you say that about a lot of things.”

“Do I?”

“No, you don’t,” Rhodey felt compelled to say, because Toni looked like she was thinking about it. Despite the lies Toni spread about him, he was a good friend.

Toni nodded in reluctant acceptance. “You don’t. You say ‘Toni, this is important!’ or ‘Toni, you have to do this.’ or ‘You have an hour to get ready, Toni.’”

“So maybe try listening next time?”

“You say that like it’s rare that I listen but if you’ll notice-”

Pepper snorted.

Toni would have continued her self-congratulation, but there was something like regret in the set of Pepper’s lips and the quick flicker of her eyelashes. That was worrying.

Pepper took advantage of the small moment of silence to address the group. Before they noticed, too. “Actually, it’s both a special occasion and an important event.”

“You’re bribing me,” Tony guessed. “It’s going to be really horrible, because you gathered my entire support crew. Can we at least check out early and have a real party for ourselves after?”

Pepper smiled gently and took her hand. “It’s not horrible, and we can check out early if you want. Depends on how this goes.”

“What am I doing?”

“We’re meeting Steve,” Bruce said.

Her stomach dropped but she kept her voice light “Steve who?”

“Steve Rogers, codename Captain America,” Rhodey said.

She had time to draw in a spastic breath before Captain America was in view, dressed in a civilian suit and a new haircut.

“I have to go,” she muttered, and tried to retreat.

“Toni?” Rhodey asked, noticing right away because he knew her and he’d seen her break down a thousand times in a different ways. “What’s wrong?” He put a hand low on her shoulder. Supporting without restraining.

She leaned into his hand a little and tried to breathe and center herself as her therapist had taught her.

“You can talk to him,” Pepper softly encouraged. “He knows what you’ve been through.”

“Not helping,” she said. She shut her eyes against the images of the things she and Captain America had been through together.

“Breathe. You’re safe,” Bruce told her, and she realized how quickly she was breathing. “Slow breaths.”

Toni tried to follow his advice. People were watching, she reminded herself. She stood straight and took out a small mirror to check her eye makeup. Everything in place. She tentatively judged herself to be put-together. “Here? Why did I get no warning?”

“I’m sorry, Toni,” Pepper said. “I thought…I thought it would be good for you two to talk. I didn’t realize.”

“You’re all awful at this psychological therapy thing.”

“Look who’s talking,” Rhodey sniped. “’Sorry you were trapped in a torture chamber, help me rescue the president now,’”

She let out a laugh. It was a little higher than normal, but in a room full of tipsy people, it probably did not stand out.

“Yeah,” Rhodey agreed.

Captain America had spotted them. Pepper smiled and discreetly waved him over.

“Oh, come on, kicking villain ass is the best therapy.”

“According to Toni Stark.”

“I’m a genius.”

“Then maybe you should get on that research.”

“JARVIS is so well-adjusted.”

“See, the fact that you say things like that-”

“And have them be true!”

“-is a sign of crazy.”

“Is a sign that I know what I’m doing.”

“Children,” Pepper chided with a smile for Steve “You can fight about this later.”

They arranged themselves into Christmas Card Formation.

“Steve, how’s the night going?”

He gave a sheepish bow. “Miss Potts. I got here too late to greet you at the beginning of the event. I’m not used to the traffic.”

Pepper laughed charmingly. “Oh, we didn’t even have that excuse and we got here late too.”

“Miss Stark,” Steve greeted and started to bow.

“You don’t have to bow,” Toni blurted. He blushed and straightened. She rushed to make up for it. “I mean, it’s adorable, but you don’t have to, you know,” she gave up “Have you met Rhodey?”

Steve saluted. “Colonel Rhodes.”

Rhodey saluted. “Captain America.”

“And of course you know Bruce,” Pepper added.

“Dr. Banner,” Steve greeted with a nod. “It’s good to see some familiar faces here.”

He really did look uncomfortable. Toni would feel sorry for him, except that she was struggling to control her breathing and her heart was going way too fast for her breathing rate. If she passed out here, the stocks would dip. The thought of the tabloid headlines alone was enough to distract her. She got ahold of herself, and then she tuned back into the conversation. 

“-sorry for throwing you into the sharkpool, Steve,” Pepper said.

Captain America kept the smile on his face. “Different pool, same sharks.”

“Yup, you have been dealing with the press,” Toni said, because her mouth moved without her permission and now Pepper smiled at her in a bracing way. 

“Well, we’ll leave you two now to compare notes,” Pepper said.

Toni grabbed at Rhodey’s hand as he started moving away. She was immediately ashamed at the reflexive action, but Rhodey didn’t seem to find it strange. He just gave her hand a squeeze.

“I’ll be over there,” he said, tilting his head at the nearest bar. “Having some of the drinks you owe me.” The bar would be in her line of sight if Toni and Steve stayed where they were. 

“Make sure to run up a tab, dear. I can’t have any pregnancy rumors this week.” The press had gotten bored of simple adultery pieces, and was currently running adultery/pregnancy stories.

She let go of Rhodey’s hand, and he left, and then she was alone with Captain America’s serious face. She took a deep breath.

“I heard you flew into the capitol when SHIELD fell and found my shield for me. I wanted to thank you.”

“Rhodey was the one who actually pulled it out. I got some hilarious pictures of Iron Patriot holding Captain America’s shield. And,” she said with a shrug “I was scouring the area for any intact Stark tech anyway.”

Captain America frowned. “Was everything accounted for?”

“As much as could have been expected, yes.” He continued to look concerned, so she clarified. “I can’t be sure that chunks of alloys won’t be identified and replicated, but all the main components were recovered. And anyway that was just damage control since now I know Hydra had access to my tech.”

His frown deepened. He glanced around the room carefully. “We need to know how much potential damage we’re looking at. When can we debrief?”

An order, not a request. “Who’s ‘we?’” she demanded. He looked taken-aback, and that surprise on his face, like it hadn’t occurred to him that she’d refuse to meet with him and his friends, hit her right in the authority issues.

“I’m not sure I can- Toni?”

She opened her eyes again and forced a smile for the onlookers. Maybe for herself. “Sorry, it’s just, the images, and SHIELD, and being in New York and- yours was the first face that I saw…after- never mind, you must think I’m pathetic. I think I’m pathetic, but at least I’m not running away again. Like I just tried to do. I’ll just stand here. Progress. I’m all about progress and” she let out a slow breath and the stream of words slowed down “and the future, that’s my thing. Toni Stark, woman of the future. Don’t know why the past is- actually, that makes a twisted sort of sense. It’s the past is a bratty neglected child getting its reven-” she laughed shortly. “Oh man, this is Stark through and through.”

Captain America stared at her. Toni kept the smile on her face until it occurred to her how deranged she must look. She let herself sigh and stare over his shoulder.

“Oh,” he said, like he’d just realized how insane she was. But then he followed that with “Flashbacks.”

She found herself looking at his face again, despite the terrible memory it mirrored for her.

“You’re having PTSD from the battle in-”

Toni shut her eyes again, and Captain America’s words cut off.

“I’m sorry I triggered you,” he said, contrite “My face triggered you.”

“I’m that obvious,” Toni agreed, and she could hear the flat resignation in her voice.

She couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes still, but his voice was soft when he told her, “PTSD is nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Yeah, heard that before,” she muttered, because she couldn’t keep her mouth shut around Captain America.

“I’ve dealt with PTSD,” he retaliated wryly.

She could do nothing but blink at him in astonishment.

“Pepper must have put you up to this,” she surmised.

He looked taken aback again. No, there was indignation in the set of his shoulders. “I’m not lying. Ms. Potts did not tell me to talk to you and I wouldn’t lie even if she had.”

She stared at him for a few moments longer, noting the stubborn posture and the complete lack of shame.

Captain America raised an eyebrow at her.

Toni burst into laughter, but she reined it in quickly. What was with her and public displays of emotion, today? She blamed Captain America. Guileless, painfully honest Captain America, from whom she had not yet figured out how to hide.

To her surprise, he was smiling back at her when she grinned at him. “Well, if you can’t trust Captain America, who can you trust?”

“I’m not currently…” he sighed. Swept a look over the dance floor.

“You’re off the clock now,” she guessed, because wow, did she wish she didn’t understand the weary look in his eyes.

He looked back at her again, and she felt that he was evaluating her again. She straightened her shoulders involuntarily.

“Call me Steve,” he said. He looked briefly embarrassed.

It was her turn to hesitate. “…Steve?”

Steve smiled and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Toni.”

She stared at it, tensing again. The sounds of chatter and glad-handing were suddenly loud in her ears. But Steve was waiting, gaze clear and easy. So she thrust her hand out before Steve could get too worried.

“Nice to meet you…Steve,” she said, and, strangely, she felt some of the tension leave her. Steve’s grip was solid and warm, but not forceful.

“I’m sorry about this. I didn’t know why you’d been avoiding me, and I thought this could be a low-pressure way to talk to you.”

She shrugged. What was done was done, and she figured it was her fault for not telling her friends about her Captain America issues. At least the ones relevant to tonight. Oh god, she was a head case. 

“You could have asked for a private meeting, since you had Pepper’s attention.”

“I didn’t want to impose. I thought, if I was just another person at this event you were already scheduled to attend…”

Toni resisted the urge to laugh at the idea of Captain America ever being “just another person” at any event he chose to attend. “I think an Avengers meeting merits a change in my schedule.”

“I’m not necessarily…you don’t have to be an Avenger. We just want all the information that’s available.”

She nodded, and stifled the dozens of questions. “This was such a poor venue. Mental issues aside. Cameras everywhere.”

“We did not choose the most discrete location,” he agreed.

“I like a man who can confess his faults. You can leave the discretion to me.” she said, and moved on before Steve could take her thoughtless flirtation seriously. “Want to meet up sometime next week” Oh wow, that was not a good continuation “so we can debrief and discuss any necessary action?” Nailed it. Except that the self-satisfied smirk sabotaged her. She schooled her expression into something professional and neutral. “Depending on the expected time requirements. The move to New York is keeping my schedule tight, but I’m sure I can- well, my assistant can find an appropriate time.”


	2. Chapter 2

Toni scheduled the meeting for the very next day, though she warned him it would have to be a quick one. Steve arrived at the property and did a double take. Of course Toni owned both a mansion by Central Park and skyscraper in New York City. The doors swung open for him and a friendly voice named JARVIS greeted him at the door.

Other than that, the absolutely sprawling mansion was silent. He met no servants on his way to the meeting room. JARVIS explained that he was an artificial intelligence whom Toni had created. His voice sounded so utterly human that Steve wondered whether it was a prank.

The last set of doors opened into a room with a single large window instead of a wall. He was so surprised by the sudden bright light and the sight of the gardens beyond the glass that it took him a moment to meet Toni’s gaze and walk toward her.

Toni seemed ill at ease as they greeted each other and sat by the glass wall. Her body was relaxed she moved as gracefully as ever, but her eyes were watchful above her smile. He remembered the way she’d sauntered about the helicarrier when they’d first met, the picture of insouciance up until she’d obtained evidence of the SHIELD’s Phase 2.

“Is this where Howard lived?”

She glanced away. “Sometimes. It was my mom’s favorite. Best for entertaining.” She waved a hand at the gardens. “So, what brings you to New York? Rumor was you were looking for someone. Did you find them?”

Steve felt his chest seize. “Yes.” But it was too big a lie. “Or…no.”

At Toni’s puzzled look, he explained. “The person I thought I was looking for ended up being a Hydra operative. Wearing his face.”

“He was important to you,” she said.

Steve didn’t answer. He was struggling to hold himself in some semblance of composure. It wasn’t a question anyway. Even if he weren’t giving himself away, she somehow knew about his search. She must have a hint as to how far, how fast, he’d gone.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“I want to wipe them off the face of the Earth.” It came out sounding calm. He pictured ice smothering the flaming pain and hatred in his chest, just as it had smothered the decades of his life. If only.

“Ah. Revenge.”

“Is that a problem?”

She started tapping her fingers against her arc reactor. It was such an obvious sign of discomfort that it seemed out of character for Toni. Clearly there was a problem.

“You asked whether I’d ever lost a soldier.”

“What?”

“After the helicarrier attack,” she said, as if that made sense. “You asked whether that was the first time I’d lost a soldier. I don’t think I ever fully debriefed SHIELD on my escape from the Ten Rings. They just know I dedicated myself to demolishing the Ten Rings after.”

“You lost a soldier,” Steve guessed.

The tapping against her arc reactor stopped. Her voice was very carefully light. “He also didn’t wait for me.”

“I’m sorry,” Steve said.

“I privatized world peace. I’ve never been a soldier, but I needed a mission. I needed-” her fingers flexed against the surface of the arc reactor. She sighed. “You seem like a guy who appreciates a mission. Just, uh, keep in mind, revenge doesn’t give you anything back.”

Steve watched the way her fingers rubbed nervously across the surface of the arc reactor. He noticed distantly that it was different- smaller, and angled above the slight curve of her sternum instead of being set into it. It shifted with her breathing.

“I’ve spent long enough chasing ghosts,” Steve said. Toni looked at him again. The distant, hollow expression was gone from her eyes in a flicker. “I know I’m not getting anything back. But I can try my damnest to make sure they don’t get to keep doing this. I can take away their power to hurt people.”

Toni nodded. “Good.”

They both looked out the window for a few breaths. Steve was glad to have something else to look at- it occurred to him that Toni had probably chosen this room for this very advantage.

“Can we work together, then?” Steve asked.

Toni hesitated. “What do you mean by that?”

“Can we team up to take down HYDRA and AIM?”

“What will that look like?”

That pulled Steve up short. He was a strategist, but he’d never been particularly interested in logistics. Sam accused him of throwing himself fully at his problems without ever considering half-measures. It had worked out fine for him, but he was abruptly aware, looking into Toni’s guarded eyes, that such a strategy would look very different if Toni Stark/Iron Woman were to utilize it, or even if she were to follow along in his wake, providing support to her full capacity. Books on recent history were divided into before Iron Woman and after Iron Woman. Her actions had wrecked the military-industrial complex and had therefore shaken entire governments. The topic of geopolitical strife had practically changed genres.

He considered her, and he smiled. “Whatever it has to look like. I know you’ve worked hard on making the world safe. Nobody in the history of the world has done as good a job. I want to be a part of it.”

“Okay,” Toni said. If anything, she looked more wary.

“I trust you,” he clarified, meeting her eyes and willing her to believe him.

She blinked at him, opened her mouth, and, to his shock, blushed. “Uh…” she gave her head a sharp little shake. “At the very least, we need both need to be up to date on where HYDRA and AIM are, what they’re up to, what our respective teams have done lately.”

Steve nodded. “I’ve been working with Black Widow and Hawkeye on shutting down HYDRA bases. There’s also- I’m not at liberty to name the third player, but I would like for us to meet with them.”

He held out a card with an address on it.

She looked at it for a long moment and then reached out to take it with an uncertain look. “Why are we meeting with them?”

“They take better notes than I do,” Steve said.

She looked up from the card to meet his eyes, and she quirked a smile at his joke.

“Okay, okay. We’re meeting with them.”

.*.*.*.*.*.

“No fucking way,” Toni had muttered when she walked into the office. It was a lot smaller and a lot less populated, but there it was. The spawn of SHIELD. Twenty minutes later, she was a lot less impressed. A man in the standard SHIELD jumpsuit was allegedly trying to recruit her.

“We can’t rely on Colonel Rhodes’ service. The government prioritizes DoD over SHIELD.”

She raised an eyebrow "Hate to break it to you, but I'm not a free agent either. Looks like you'll just have to learn to share."

The agent's eye twitched. "This is not about petty rivalries-"

"Of course not. It's about chains of command-" she wondered whether the agent had purposely goaded her into speaking "about who calls the shots. I know how military people work." Huh, maybe that's why the world couldn't stop warring- they put military men in charge of the military. Give hammers to the people who want to see all the world as nails, and… "there's a reason I stopped selling guns." 

"This is about defense," the agent insisted.

The agent then tried to feed Toni her own pre-Afghanistan bullshit. It was almost poetic justice. Something was wiggling near her navel. Pity, she told herself. But it occurred to her that she hadn’t done penance for her war mongering in a while. Not that she could ever forget that she’d spent most of her life, thus far, profiting from death.

"Can I just ask," she interrupted because yes, she could ask, "did you skip the background reading on me? Because, this is embarrassing for both of us, but I wrote this script."

The door opened as the agent's face fell. Fury and Steve stood on the other side.

"Actually, you're taking credit for some of Howard Stark's work there," Fury said.

Toni may have winced a little. "My god, you don't even pretend you weren't listening this entire time. Is it standard practice? Were you just waiting for your chance to make an entrance?"

Fury nodded at the agent, who got up and thrust his seat at him. Fury sat down as Steve pulled up another chair.

“Hi, Toni,” Steve said.

“Hi, Steve. Fury, I thought you were in Europe. Did you come back just to be the bad cop?”

"I’m here to bring you back down to earth.”

“Ah, the sun to my Icarus. How am I fucking up now?”

Fury gave her humorless grin. It was almost affectionate. Or maybe that was just her Howard issues talking.

“You look well, Stark.” His eye bore into hers. That was clearly not a compliment.

“Thank you.”

“Very well. Considering your recent plastic surgery and what little time you took to recover from it.”

“I caught SHIELD checking out my rack,” she sing-songed. She wiggled her shoulders a little for effect.

“Yeah, we’ve been checking out a lot more. Like indications that your armor was flying covert missions very shortly after your rather lengthy meeting with a team of heart surgeons.”

Toni kept her face carefully blank of anything except mild amusement as her irritation grew.

“Have you been watching romcoms? Stalking is really not attractive behavior. It makes people want a restraining order, not a relationship.”

Fury ignored her. “I found that very interesting considering what we know about Doctor Maya Hansen’s work, at least before she joined AIM.” 

Toni’s temper broke. “Did your HYDRA friends also find that interesting?”

Fury raised an eyebrow as if were surprised by her outburst.

“Did they find the repulsor tech on the helicarriers interesting too? The agents in charge of gathering intelligence on me- have you had the time to run background checks on them yet?”

She stopped to get her temper back in check. Fury seemed unimpressed and that kind of non-reaction always got on her fucking nerves.

“Trust me, Stark, I am aware of the magnitude of the problem I am cleaning up. That doesn’t mean that it’s the only mess that needs to be cleaned up.”

“Yes, thank you so much for the memo,” she spat. “Don’t know how I would have figured that out without your intelligence network.”

“I think you’re missing the point here,” Fury said.

“The point, my point, is to protect the world from my tech. I know I fucked up again-” she shut her eyes and saw shells and shrapnel, bullet holes on flesh and blood. Blood from her own body and the blood of so many others.

“You are protecting yourself,” Fury corrected.

“That’s not true,” Steve said, before Toni could even growl at Fury.

“No, you’ve fixated on your tech,” Fury said, “because that’s easy. Maybe you failed to notice, but when you set out to save the world, you changed the world.”

Toni glared at him, too confused and furious to even know how to respond.

“So you privatized world peace. No more open warfare, no more war zones. No more innocents between soldiers. Great job, right?” Fury paused. “You’ve brought us back to the cold war. You’ve made it so that only spies, superhumans, and terrorists have the means to fight.”

“A lot fewer people are dying now, because of that,” Steve said.

“That’s true,” Fury agreed, still addressing her. “But you know what’s going to happen now, don’t you? It’s still an arms race. Take some goddamn responsibility for it.”

That stung, because she was trying, and because he was still right. “What, you want me to build a suit of armor around the city?”

“No, I want a response team for the kind of crises we’re likely to see more of, from now on.”

She took a deep breath. “Why are you asking me?”

“I trust you can figure that out yourself,” Fury said.

He slapped some files on the table and walked out.

Toni held out until the door closed behind Fury. Then she put her head in her hands.

“I’m sorry,” Steve said. “He has files I don’t otherwise have access to.”

His jaw was set with indignation as he glared at the door. She laughed, and he looked at her and let his anger fall away. She waved a hand as his questioning look.

“So, are these files ordered chronologically, or alphabetically?”

.*.*.*.*.*.

It was probably fortunate for SI and its investors that Toni dealt with stress by retreating to her workshop and building stuff. Usually, she could get herself to complete ongoing projects or explore new avenues of creation. When she was truly distressed, she allowed herself to work on her armor. Her focus since her surgery had been to rework the torso. 

The thing was that Toni did not want to be one of Director Fury’s operatives. If she worked for him, she made it that much easier for him to get a blood sample. The man had shown no hesitation in having her stabbed with a needle, after all. He also answered to people she didn’t know, and Toni would rather throw all her tech into the ocean (again) than put it in anonymous hands. Having the Avengers as a separate entity from SHIELD allowed her control over her teammates’ equipment without the need to share it.

Toni groaned into the armor's chest cavity.

"I cannot believe I fell for the good cop/bad cop routine," she told the various AIs in the room.

“Madam?” JARVIS asked. Which meant he felt nosy. Usually, JARVIS knew better than to acknowledge it when she talked to herself.

“Steve was not in on it. I think. Which- okay that’s less humiliating. At least I was not the only one being…directed.”

On the other hand, she really did not want to be a vigilante, and she knew she wasn’t the only one who faced the choice of vigilantism, inaction, or SHIELD membership. 

Really, a saving-the-world club was long overdue. Toni was proud of herself for being a savvy futurist.

“JARVIS, how would you like to copilot for an Avenger?”

“I am happy to assist in all of your endeavors.”

“You say that, but you have a tendency to cooperate with Pepper.” And Pepper would not like this.

“I fraternize only with allies, Madam.”

Toni narrowed her eyes. “Was that sass, JARVIS?”

“Only an attempt to reassure you regarding my loyalties.”

“Good because this is a turning point in my life. I am in the middle of some very delicate negotiations,” with herself, for now “and I am about to speak to Pepper Potts about changing a schedule she has choreographed to the nearest hour.”

She took a deep breath. “Call Pepper for me?”

Toni waited until Pepper said “Hello, Toni. How did your meeting with Steve go?”

“It, um, do you have a minute? I don’t have a simple answer to that question. I got the intelligence I needed, which was the goal,”

“Good.”

“and Steve and I walked out of there okay, which was the secondary goal, right?”

Pepper did not bother to deny that, but then she was a busy woman who hated wasting time. “Okay,” Pepper said, a question sneaking into her tone. 

“But, in retrospect, - you’re alone, right? I can tell you something classified?”

“Of course.”

“Well, in retrospect, it’s always a bad sign when the Director’s the only one having fun.”

“Director? Toni, what?”

“Director Fury,” Toni clarified “Of the new and improved SHIELD. Apparently.”

A pause. Pepper inhaled.

“I’d like to remind you that this meeting wasn’t my idea,” Toni interjected.

“We needed information, Toni. The least they can do is provide it. You don’t owe them anything, and if they demand anything in return, then it’s not worth it.”

“I know,” Toni said. It came out like a confession. “But see, this is why you negotiate on my behalf. You’re a better CEO than I am, which is actually why I called.”

“Are you about to ask me to resume the running of your company? While you commit yourself to the entity at the center of an international, highly publicized political and national security disaster?”

“No.” Toni gritted her teeth. “Well, maybe, regarding-”

“Toni-”

“Are you turning my company down, Ms. Potts?”

“No,” Pepper snapped, automatically. Then, softer, “I’m not sure it’s fair to call it your company if, I’m running it.”

Toni relaxed a little. “I thought it would be presumptuous to say “our” company, at that point in the conversation.” 

“But, Toni, you know that’s not the problem.”

“I haven’t decided yet. But…I’m thinking about it.”

Pepper sighed. “It’s not my right to tell you what can and cannot do. It is my right to remind you that there’s so much you could do outside the armor. Green technology is important, and there is nobody who can do it as well as you.

“As your CEO, I can advise you that any commitment to SHIELD is, to say the least, a nightmare from a public relations standpoint.”

“I wouldn’t be doing this with SHIELD,” Toni explained. “There’s precedent. The X-Men and the Fantastic Four operate in this city.”

“A meeting with Director Fury led you to this?”

At least Toni wasn’t the only one who thought the Director had control issues. Toni grinned, both at that and because she’d managed to distract Pepper. 

“He’s okay with it because he’s pretending it’s his idea. Actually, he was pushing hard for it. Maybe he’s afraid the military will snap up his best agents.”

“So he’s giving them to Toni Stark, instead?”

Toni pursed her lips to keep from laughing. “When you put it like that, it sounds ridiculous. ”

“You, of all people, know the power of the United States military to requisition whatever it is they want. How has it not taken them?”

“See, that’s the thing-” Toni paused. “Do you have another minute? And, uh maybe a chair?”

“Oh, god,” Pepper said. There was already a hint of panic in her voice.

“Pep?”

“You have to tell me.”

“Cap told me that Agent Coulson is alive.”

“Phil- What? He’s- What? That makes no sense. He has not been seen since…since.”

“Yes,” Toni agreed. “Magical weapon nonsense. I refuse to think about how, but apparently there were a few healers among the delegation of Asgardians. Anyway. Agent Coulson was, among other things, the long-term handler of Agents Romanoff and Barton.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’m not entirely sure, Toni confessed. “I try not to think about what goes on in any of their heads. Steve was delicate, but he revealed that Coulson’s resurrection has resulted in a lot of time off for those two. Romanoff stays close to home even on the occasional mission. Her public role in the SHIELD debacle was probably almost convenient for her.”

“Oh my god,” Pepper breathed.

“Not to mention Barton’s front-row seat during Loki’s attack. Um. So. Yeah. Fury has nominally held onto that lease.”

Pepper took a deep breath. “Regardless. It’s still not your job to save them. Or Steve. Or even Bruce.”

Toni flinched. Pepper might allow Toni to stray from the subject, but she had a way of cutting through to the heart of the matter. She stared at the chest plate on the bench in front of her and traced the circle around arc reactor window.

“I know,” Toni said, because it seemed the thing to say. “Will that be all, Ms. Potts?”

“That will be all, Ms. Stark,” she confirmed.

.*.*.*.*.*.

Toni went for a flight around the city that night. She’d hit the borders of the island and just find herself looping back to the lights like a moth. She did a few figure eights over Central Park and then stopped to hover over that dark patch.

The city had changed. Superhumans and terrorists alike were clustering in the cities. Maybe they always had been, and the war outside had kept the war inside inconspicuous. Now the little sparks of activity -the fights in Hell’s Kitchen and the magical disturbances and the ambitious and malignant science experiments- were getting people’s attention.

Maybe it was her fault. Maybe it wasn’t. That didn’t matter in the question of whether this was her responsibility.

She took a deep breath and looked straight up at the sky. The sight of the stars made her uneasy. So she shot up into it, blasting her repulsors like she was flying for the first time again. And once she was laughing, she let herself stop and look down at the city again. She could see Stark Tower, still a beacon of clean energy. And she knew where the mansion nestled against Central Park. Avengers Mansion. Possibly.

Either way, hanging in the air above the city in which she was born, Toni knew she was not going back to Malibu.

“Welcome to New York, JARVIS,” she said. “Everywhere the lights sparkle is our kingdom.”

She began the slow, curving descent, letting herself feel gravity tugging her down.

“Incoming call, Madam,” JARVIS said. “Captain Steve Rogers would like to speak to you.”

“Put him through.”

“Toni, good evening.”

“Evening, Steve.”

“Is everything alright?”

“Hmm?” She rolled in the air so she was facing the sky, and grinned as she began falling in earnest.

“SHIELD gave me a call,” Steve explained. “I see you’re patrolling the island. Trouble?”

Interesting that SHIELD had called him to call her instead of just calling her directly. Fury was laying it on thick.

“Negative, just a training exercise,” she lied shamelessly “Gotta practice my flying.”

With that, she engaged the repulsors again and began a tight spiral over Central Park. If Steve had a line of sight, he was probably not in or among buildings. She pictured him sketching on the Brooklyn waterfront or a park somewhere. 

“Though if you’re feeling antsy, New York City cabbies are always prepared to fight.”

“I don’t think I can rob the NYPD of those opportunities,” Steve said, frank and serious. “They also seem to have some road rage to work off.”

She grinned. “Have you been driving in New York lately?”

“Motorcycle.”

“Why hasn’t everyone registered how much of an adrenaline junky you are? And Fury says I’m the reckless one.”

“I’m not the one taking the Iron Woman for a joy ride.”

“Pity,” Toni said, because the set up was too great, and then winced. Shit. What the fuck. “No wonder you think motorcycles are fun,” she added quickly. Then, to further distract him from her stupid big mouth, “How did you recognize me?”

“Well, it’s either you or an erratic shooting star,” he said, “but I’m no Dr. Foster.”

“Did you also receive a phone call from Thordilocks? He’s in the neighborhood again but he refuses to leave his space nerd long enough to visit us. What is that?”

Steve sounded just a little amused as he replied. “I called him back. Apparently her on-site research will be over soon. They’re coming back here after that.”

“Excellent. I distract her with science, you grab Thor. Bruce can choose which fight he wants to join once we fill him in on the plan. You may think grand theft Odinson is beneath you, but it’s for a good cause. For America.”

“Well, in that case…” Steve paused. “So, does this mean you’re thinking of the Avengers?”

“Hard not to, flying over the city,” she admitted. “Like, hey, none of this would be here if we hadn’t assembled! And maybe that was a one-time thing. But-” She cut herself off. Steve let the silence linger. “Hey, I still haven’t debriefed you on my extracurricular activities. Want to have tea with me and Bruce?”

She’d asked Captain America to tea. Bruce would get a kick out of that.


	3. Chapter 3

Bruce nursed his tea while Toni twitched and paced, and Steve watched her.

“So. Extremis. I assume you have some questions. But first, I need your word that you will not share this with anyone. Especially Fury.”

“You have my word. You know, of course, that he has an idea,” Cap said.

Toni waved that away. “Everyone has an idea. It’s sci-fi until it’s not.”

“I assume you two collaborated on it?”

Bruce nodded. “We intended, first and foremost, to disarm it. Dr. Hansen made it into a weapon for AIM. Pepper needed a cure. But we couldn’t risk trying to just purge it or turn it off. Extremis was too volatile. We needed the healing effect to linger until every other effect was completely deactivated. Then we could deactivate the entire system.”

“So you turned Extremis into a healing system?”

Here, Bruce looked at Toni. She grimaced.

“Technically. We gave my version a few adjustments.”

“How did you get Extremis?” Steve asked because of course he did.

Toni sighed. “I had a heart surgery, it went poorly, there were…heart tissue issues, and rib cage issues, and I had a vial of our version of Extremis. Anyway. I realized over time that Extremis is an energy spendthrift”

“It attempts to heal any and all damage, if there is energy available,” Bruce translated.

“Extremis considers consciousness a luxury. Luckily, I was able to tweak Extremis so it can interface with mechanical components.” She tapped the arc reactor. “On the surface, I’m back to square one. But, I have no more shrapnel in my body, and now I don’t ever have to spend time in medical.”

Bruce shook his head as Toni grinned. “You still have to sleep and eat,” he told her. To Steve, he said “Arc reactor or no, Extremis can knock her out for a while if she sustains enough damage. We had to slow it way down in order to prevent a Toni Stark supernova every time she broke a bone. And, well, there are some things even Extremis can’t fix.”

“Well, yeah, if I’m liquefied, I’m dead, but even the Hulk can’t be liquefied.”

She blinked, and her expression turned thoughtful.

“No, Toni,” Bruce said.

Toni shrugged. “And any time I spend in medical, I’ll be unconscious. I’m counting that as a win.”

“Your nurses would probably agree,” Bruce mused.

Toni gave him an injured look. He smiled at her without a trace of apology. The Bruce version of a smirk. Probably payback for the “liquefied Hulk” speculation.

“So, why the need for secrecy?” Steve asked.

Toni quirked an eyebrow. “Other than the potential for AIM to get ahold of it again?”

“Extremis is still not at all viable, anymore than the Super Soldier Serum or the Hulk cocktail. It didn’t even work for Toni, really,” Bruce pointed out.

“I think we can all agree I made it work,” Toni argued.

Bruce continued. “The original had a ninety percent fatality rate. We have no reason to believe that our version would be any more forgiving, and because it’s a system that heals and, essentially, fixes itself, it is extremely difficult to root out. Rerouting its default energy source was easier than deactivating it.”

“Think of it as a wily, non-communicable virus,” Toni suggested.

“I see the problem,” Steve said, thinking of all the disastrous attempts to recreate the Serum. He ran a hand over his face.

“Hey, hey, no need for that. We won; don’t give me that exasperated face.”

“You’ve made what looks like a successful prototype.”

There was definitely a note of disappointment to that statement. Maybe it was more the presence of her father in the mansion, but Toni’s hackles went up.

“Look, it was use Extremis or die. You might think I made the wrong call-”

“That’s not what I meant,” Steve interrupted angrily.

“-but I promise you I weighed the pros and cons before deciding I had too much goddamn work to do before I died.”

Steve recoiled a little.

“And please don’t talk to me about becoming a prototype.”

“I’m glad you’re with us, whatever you had to do. I’m just concerned because people tend to get more excited about new things.”

“Everything I make is new.”

They stopped, lips pursed, to not-quite-glare at each other.

Bruce chose this moment of silence to take a deep breath- a wordless request that they calm down.

Toni glanced at the ceiling as she inhaled. Steve relaxed his body language.

“You’ve done a very good job of covering it up,” Steve conceded. “And I’m glad you chose to stay with us.”

She didn’t know how to respond. Clearly a comeback was unnecessary. She wasn’t used to people un-ironically praising her so soon after any sort of scolding. Steve even looked sincere. She looked at Bruce but he was no help. He only smiled at her again, a little twinkle in his eye.

“Thanks,” Toni said.

“There was something else you wanted to talk to me about,” Steve prompted.

“Right,” she said, still a little uncertain “My share of the intelligence.”

JARVIS dimmed the lights.

“As you know, I’ve been keeping an eye on certain sectors of the black market since I started being Iron Femme. I look for weapon sales, technology exchanges, that kind of thing. Recently, there’s been a spike of activity in Madripoor.”

JARVIS pulled up a list of incidents and a selection of photographs.

“By which I mean, Victor von Doom has been spotted there. Some of AIM’s staff disappeared there. And there was an interesting bump in travel there after SHIELD fell.”

Steve nodded. “SHIELD found that some of their moles had sponsors in Madripoor. Not necessarily HYDRA, but certainly not loyal to SHIELD. I assume you’re familiar with their law code?”

“Only as it pertains to flying there, rounding up the people on my wanted list, and punching them in the face,” Toni said.

“Sounds like a solid enough foundation,” he said.

“The funny thing is, you could probably get away with all of that as long as you left them where you found them,” Bruce said.

“What kind of party is it if I can’t take home the party favors? Anyway, they seem to find Iron Femme clomping around a buzzkill.”

“You can’t sneak through the island,” Steve said, “but I know someone who can.”

“I’m trying to not get SHIELD involved, remember?”

“Natasha’s resourceful. She’ll find a way to freelance this work.”

“Oh yeah? And why would she do that?”

“Natasha’s got even more of a reason to be skeptical of SHIELD right now. You think you spilled blood on their behalf. She’s looking for a better way to make things right. To serve the world.”

“You have a lot of faith in her.”

“You go through certain things together, you see how people react to those things, and it builds trust. I trust Natasha with my life. Do you trust me?”

Toni hesitated. Not because she didn’t have an answer on her lips, but because it was true, and that scared her. Toni had trusted this much before, only to be dead wrong. Or, nearly-dead wrong. And yet. She would be lying if she said she didn’t trust Steve.

“I do,” she said. She shook her head in dismay at herself. “So, you want to get the band back together?”

He blinked, seeming thrown for a minute. “What?”

“I need Bruce’s expertise on Extremis, if we run into any remnants of it. I doubt it - Killian kept a tight hold on it- but if we do, I’d rather have Bruce’s help identifying it. Natasha is going to want backup from Barton, since you and I will be no help with spy-work.”

“Speak for yourself.”

“Alright, Agent Rogers.”

.*.*.*.*.*.

“Steve is absolutely no help with spy-work,” Natasha confirmed a few days later.

“You took me on missions. I picked a few things up.”

It was exceedingly strange to see affection in Natasha, underneath the amusement.

“I only took you on missions when we were ready to kick down the door. I’m sensing we will need a more subtle strategy on this mission.”

“He’s a little more subtle than Toni Stark,” Clint offered. Steve raised his eyebrows at ‘a little,’ but he seemed more amused than indignant. “He could play your bodyguard.”

“No. I do want them nearby. They’ll make an effective plan b.”

“So, two teams?” Steve asked. “You and Hawkeye fly in first. Toni, Bruce, and I fly in after you and draw attention to the wrong place.”

“Do you have a wrong place in mind? Otherwise I’m going to have a public disagreement with Pepper and throw dice at my problems.”

Natasha nodded. “Don’t drink. I may need you to fly in and assist.”

“I’ve got this.”

“I know. Just don’t get carried away.”

“She’s ‘got this,’” Steve repeated to himself. “I’m no help.”

“Toni’s very good at misdirection.”

Clint smirked. “Had you fooled.”

“In my defense, she was fooling her best friends. You’re a natural. I’m never going to live that report down.”

“You’re never going to live that report down? You?”

“Are we not past the statute of limitations on that? I thought you had let that one go.”

“That was before I knew it would be used to brief Captain America on me!”

“Fine. I’m sorry.”

“I forgive you.” Never let it be said that Toni Stark wasn’t generous.

Nat smiled in a sweet way, and then kept speaking. “I’m sorry I made you look bad in front of your childhood hero.”

Toni glared. Steve looked embarrassed. Clint did an insultingly poor job of hiding his smirk.

“The depths of your treachery are just-“ Toni began, and words failed her. “I keep being surprised. Why is that?”

“She’s good at that,” Steve agreed. He sounded more betrayed than apologetic, as if he were being humiliated as much as Toni.

“It’s why you called me, isn’t it?” Natasha asked, her lovely eyes large with innocence.

.*.*.*.*.*.

 

Toni dragged Steve and Bruce along with her to Singapore, where she staged a couple of meetings until Natasha gave them the call. Then they took the jet to Madripoor and rented a couple of hotel rooms. Bruce had elected to remain in their car while Toni made an appearance at the casino with Steve. He’d ended up arguing his way into a position as Toni’s fake bodyguard. Natasha had sighed and admitted Toni could probably put on enough of a performance to conceal them both.

So far, Steve seemed to be working the role. She’d headed straight for the bar. Now he was standing near her scanning the casino floor and scowling in a restrained manner. The other patrons began murmuring before her drink was ready.

“Relax,” she told Steve quietly. She wore a tiny, unobstructive communicator in her ear and had a flesh-colored microphone chip stuck under her chin. Steve wore a more visible communicator, one with a connection to Barton.

He snorted but made the tension in his body a little less visible.

She scooped her drink up and hid her lips against the rim of the glass to say, “I may pretend to proposition you, if we’re called away during a game. It’s the best getaway cover.”

“Public displays of affection,” he said, as if reciting a manual. She wondered whether this was an actual SHIELD spy maneuver and whether Natasha herself had trained Steve in it. “That’s okay with me.”

She sauntered around the casino throwing chips here and there, gathering a little group of people who recognized her, and gradually spilling her drink with enthusiastic gestures. The Blackjack dealers regarded her with unconcealed horror every time she seemed to approach the tables, and that was always fun. It got people’s attention. Eventually, a patron invited her to join the craps table and the Toni Stark Show began in earnest.

She’d acquired another drink, a feather boa, and a small crowd by the third round.

“You here alone, sweetheart?” one of the men asked.

She glanced at him. He didn’t seem to recognize her: he had been at the table already, and was presumably only intrigued because so many other patrons were intrigued.

“I thought I was among friends.”

“Just wondering who let you out of his sight. Must be a real loser.”

“He certainly isn’t winning, I’ll tell you that,” she said.

The next roll was “good” for Toni, and she took the opportunity to make a sloppy toast and touch her lips to the rim of her glass. The girl beside her cheered and then turned around. Toni looked back in time to see the girl land a clumsy kiss on Steve’s jaw.

Steve looked too startled to defend himself, so Toni linked arms with him in a proprietary way, cocking her head at the girl.

“Are you trying to steal my bodyguard away?”

“Yes. Can I borrow him for the night?”

Toni looked up at him. Of course he was blushing.

“You should ask him that.”

She stepped away from him and raised her drink to her lips again.

“Thank you ma’am, but I’ll be working tonight,” he said.

“Right answer,” Toni said, peering at him in a leisurely, self-satisfied way.

“I guess I used up all my luck,” the girl said, gesturing at the table with a sigh.

Steve went back to looking over the casino floor.

They continued the game without further incident until Steve told her via communicator, “We’re up.”

Toni distributed her chips among her little group and leaned up to Steve with a filthy grin. She whispered, “I think she likes you,” into his ear and then leaned away as if to read his face.

Steve blushed again, right on cue, and nodded. She took his arm and led him away from the table. Nobody followed.

“Sorry about the sexual harassment,” she said.

“You were a lady,” he said.

“Oh, I meant the girl kissing you.”

“Ah. Are these things always so…?”

“Sexually charged? Usually my bodyguards escape the mauling, but none of them look like you.”

She winked at him. It never hurt to follow up on a performance.

Steve ducked his head and avoided her eyes.

“What does Pepper think?”

“Hmm. In terms of the general phenomenon, or in terms of me?”

Steve didn’t answer.

She shrugged. “I guess the answer’s the same. We’ve worked together a long time, and this kind of thing is an occupational hazard in our line of work.”

“Ah.”

Bruce had driven the car up to the casino entrance, but he ceded the wheel to her and the passenger’s seat to Steve.

“Thank you,” Steve said to him.

“What exactly are we doing now?” Toni asked.

“Black Widow obtained a sample and a couple of flash drives,” Steve said “She and Hawkeye will meet us so we have a chance to evaluate the intel before we proceed.

They drove a twisting path to the rendezvous point, where a van awaited them.

“Cozy,” Toni commented as they all packed in. “Are we driving somewhere?”

“Only if we start getting shot at,” Clint said. “’Work fast.”

Bruce began running his tests while Steve and Toni started on the contents of the flash drives. Natasha and Clint kept a lookout.

“It looks like there are some HYDRA operatives working in Madripoor,” Steve said.

“On the other hand, the AIM staff members were all low-level. They might have had indirect access to the virus, at most.”

They continued scrolling in silence.

“I’ve got some good news,” Bruce said. “If this is Extremis, it’s a very different form.”

“Thank fuck. I was not looking forward to fighting HYDRA and AIM’s hate-child.”

Bruce’s lips twitched.

“What do you think, Cap? Should we storm the facility?”

Cap frowned at the screen. “I hate the thought of letting any agent of HYDRA walk free.”

“But..?”

“But we stand to gain more by observing the agents we discovered,” Natasha said.

Steve continued, “SHIELD is better equipped to do that. If they can plant moles, we can keep an eye on the situation without starting an international incident.”

Toni scoffed. “I am an international incident.”

Bruce smiled. “That you are. Do you know your gambling already made the tabloids?” 

“Good. Independent confirmation that I was screwing around. Are you confident in your results?”

“All I’ve done is preliminary testing. But Extremis is very aggressive and very distinctive. So far, this sample seems like a poor reproduction.”

“So I guess there really is no point in kicking down their doors yet,” Steve concluded.

He sounded as put-out as Toni felt.

“This is good news, you know,” Bruce reminded them. “The bad guys don’t have the weapons we thought they had.”

Steve took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s hand this over to SHIELD.”

They drove to the airport still running tests and reading through information. Clint and Natasha didn’t seem to relax until the jet had taken off.

“Does this count as a win?” Toni asked.

“As much as it can be, without an explosion,” Clint said. He was deadpan but Toni thought he might be teasing her.

“Or the punching of faces,” Natasha said, quirking Steve a smile. This confirmed Toni’s suspicion.

“I’m not sure it was even a mission,” Steve said.

“I was working,” Natasha said. “What were you doing this whole time?”

Clint gestured at Steve’s chin. “Making out, apparently.”

Steve rubbed at the area until he found the smear of lipstick he’d missed earlier. His hunted look was adorable.

Natasha’s eyes sparked with unholy glee. “Steve, did you find yourself a nice girl?”

“I never seem to meet nice girls,” Steve said, giving her a pointed look.

“I don’t know why you’re blaming me,” Natasha said, evidently having chosen to misinterpret Steve’s look. “If you would let me, I could have a date set up for this weekend-”

“No, thank you,” Steve said.

“You’ve never offered to set him up with me,” Clint said. “I’m single.”

“She’s not actually setting me up on dates. It’s more so she can watch me be uncomfortable,” Steve said. He was blushing again.

“You’re cute when you blush,” Natasha said.

Toni enjoyed the sight as well. It worked with his sweet wholesome Steve-ness. But it was probably not kind to enjoy his discomfort.

“Stop trying to corrupt him,” Toni said. “He’s a national icon.”

Natasha shrugged, and let her accent slip. “He’s not my national icon.”

Toni jabbed a finger at her. “Watch yourself, Romanoff. I made world peace and I can unmake it just as easily.”

“Are we resuming the Cold War over Steve’s virtue?” Clint asked.

Natasha made a dismissive sound. “Americans blaming the world for their messes again. Captain America didn’t get debauched on my watch.”

Toni grinned. “First of all, he did not get debauched. Even the groping was incidental, really. It was just a poorly-aimed kiss.”

“Our hero remains pure,” Clint said with laughing triumph.

“Alright,” Steve said. “That’s enough.”

He valiantly kept his head up even through the giggling.

“You’re all so concerned about my love life- when was the last time any of you went on a date?”

“Oof,” Clint said. “You got me there.”

Steve looked at Natasha, who stuck her nose in the air and said “Classified.”

“Strange, given that it’s your personal life,” Steve said.

“Another point to Steve,” Clint said.

“And you, Toni?”

“I am in a relationship.”

“Right. When was the last time you took each other out on a date?”

Toni fumbled that response, because she couldn’t actually remember the last time they’d gone on a date. They spent a lot of time together. That had to count for something.

Bruce laughed quietly. Toni looked at him, and he seemed as surprised by his laughter as she was.

“I’ve never seen you speechless,” Bruce explained.

“Captain America,” she explained back.

Then Bruce yawned. She patted him on the back.

“Go nap. We have a long flight ahead of us.”

Bruce nodded, grabbed his tablet, and headed for the sleeping pod area of the plane. He liked the calm, soundproof space. Pepper was the one who had insisted on adding them to the plane, and Toni was glad even if she herself preferred sprawling on the couches.

She grabbed her own computer and started heading for her favorite sprawling couch, but then she noticed weary way Clint and Natasha were holding themselves. 

“When we land,” she began, and all three of the remaining Avengers looked at her. “Uh, Bruce doesn’t like being trapped in a car for unpredictable periods of time. So we’re taking a helicopter to the mansion. Plenty of guest rooms, if you guys want to crash there.”

Not to mention their personalized suites, but it was probably too early to offer them those.

The spies exchanged shrugs, and Steve smiled.

“Thank you, Toni.”


	4. Chapter 4

Steve woke up and went through his morning routine, then hesitated on his way out of his guest suite (Suite. Because by ‘guest rooms,’ Toni meant miniature apartments. ) He was unsure whether he should seek Toni out to say thank you, or leave unobstructively.

Just as he had decided to write a note, his phone rang. An unfamiliar number. Steve answered anyway.

“Good morning, Captain Rogers,” JARVIS’ voice answered

“Good morning, JARVIS.”

“There is breakfast in the kitchen, if you would like some.”

“Thank you, I’d like that.”

Steve followed JARVIS’ instructions to find an array of catering boxes in the kitchen. Clint, Natasha, Bruce, and, finally, Toni all joined him.

“Thanks for the muffins,” Clint said. “Five stars.”

“I’d forgotten about muffins,” Toni said.

“How does that happen?” Clint asked. He took a large bite out of his chocolate muffin and spoke with his mouth full. “Muffins are awesome.”

“I don’t eat breakfast often,” Toni said, taking a sip of her coffee and then making a face. Apparently it was still too hot to drink. “And if I did, I wouldn’t eat muffins. They’re like sad cupcakes.”

“There’s more food,” Steve noted.

She eyed the breakfast with suspicion and held her coffee mug defensively.

“I thought you didn’t like cupcakes,” Bruce said.

“I hate cupcakes,” Toni said without much heat. She was staring intently into her coffee now as it steamed. “Nothing says ‘today is special but not THAT special’ like a cupcake.”

Bruce smiled at her and exchanged a look with Steve.

“Ms. Stark,” JARVIS said, “Incoming call from Dr. Reed Richards.”

She groaned. “Before coffee. Let’s get it over with.”

She only seemed to remember that she wasn’t alone after she gave the command, and by then Reed was speaking.

“Toni,” Reed began. “We have a situation at present with Doctor Doom and his Doombots. They’re disrupting a meeting of the United Nations.”

Doctor Doom. Usually, he targeted the Fantastic Four and their projects. He had the power to do serious damage.

“What’s different?” Steve demanded. Then he looked at Toni, who thankfully looked amused rather than affronted.

“Reed, you’re on speaker with…the Avengers,” Toni said. “Minus Thor.”

Reed paused. “I thought that response team was temporary.”

“Yeah I guess we’re sort of on-again, off-again. There’s a crisis going on, so we’re on again.”

“Right. He has upgraded his Doombots. We could use all the help we can get, but I would appreciate your help in particular, Toni,” Reed said.

“Whazat, now?” Toni asked. She made a “wait” gesture at the Avengers and strode off down the hall, but they continued to hear both Reed and Toni over the speakers.

Natasha and Clint began changing into their combat uniforms right there in the kitchen, so Steve followed their lead.

Reed took a moment. “I need your help, Toni.”

“I meant, upgrades?” Though she muttered to herself “As heartwarming as your humility is.”

“There is a new form of larger Doombots, all of them quadrupedal, that appear to be equipped with what you call ‘repulsors.’”

Steve could hear the quotations in Reed’s voice and could picture the way Toni would put on a sharp little smile at that.

“Their attacks do not have the range or duration or Iron Woman’s blasts, but it really only takes one strategic blast to do damage. I am sending the data we’ve accumulated over now.”

“Don’t get caught between two of them,” she said quickly.

“Yes, Ben’s experience illustrated the consequences of that,” Reed said. He sounded troubled for the first time since he called.

“Is Ben okay?” Steve asked.

“We believe he will recover. Susan shielded him long enough for them to extract him.”

“Them?” Steve asked.

“SHIELD’s support team,” Reed said. “They’re handling the evacuation and assisting Susan and Johnny in maintaining a perimeter.”

Toni sighed. She walked in at that point in armor, with the faceplate pulled up, carrying a black box and a tablet.

“We’ll be there as soon as we can, via helicopter,” Toni said. 

“Thank you,” Reed said.

The call ended and Toni handed them small communicators. Steve noticed that his had a small emblem shaped like his shield, and that one communicator remained in the box. Toni caught his gaze and closed the box before handing him the tablet.

“Hawkeye, can you fly the helicopter?”

Hawkeye nodded.

“Take the helicopter. I’ll meet you there.”

They went outside and Toni took to the air immediately, while the rest of them got the helicopter up and running. Steve felt a moment of frustration over being in the slower vehicle, and then felt silly for it. A helicopter was only slow in comparison to the Iron Woman armor. Still.

He couldn’t help himself. He activated his communicator and said, “Iron Woman, I need you to evaluate the situation as best you can before diving in.”

“How did I know you would say that?” Toni said.

Steve’s tablet activated at that moment to display a video feed from Iron Woman’s external cameras. There were also a couple of rough schematics of the Doom Boots.

“Doctor Doom hasn’t figured out his power source or materials yet. The big ones have repulsors because they’re the only ones with large enough storage capacity. They have enough juice for one or two shots. If they sustain it for longer than three seconds, they self-destruct. Collapse, not explosion. Thankfully.”

“This is like Monaco all over again,” Natasha said.

“I’ve already picked out my pantsuit,” Toni said.

Toni was circling above the fray now, taking in the battlefield and giving Steve a good look.

“Range of ten feet? Longer for sustained shots. Varies. Shoddy workmanship.”

“Thank you, Iron Woman. Permission to engage. Prioritize containing the damage rather than destroying them until we get there.”

“Got it.” Toni dived in shooting.

“Widow, find Doctor Doom. Hawkeye, pick a perch where you can call out weaknesses. Keep their attention on us.”

They nodded.

“Bruce, you’re on standby. I’m making you our primary point of contact with Reed while we fight. I don’t want Iron Woman distracted with extraneous detail.”

“I’m a great multi-tasker,” Toni put in. She was corralling smaller Doombots as she spoke.

The helicopter was close enough now that Steve could see the battlefield with his own eyes. Johnny Storm flew by waving.

“If that’s so,” Steve said, “catch me.”

He waited to watch Iron Woman spin and turn in their direction before jumping. He had a moment to grin against the wind and then she caught him. Bridal style, of course.

“Toni,” said. And then grimaced because he’d broken protocol and Clint always gave him hell for that on SHIELD missions.

“You’ve lost the high ground. Jumped from it, in fact.”

“Really?”

“Do you know how difficult it is to catch people in a free fall, without tearing ligaments?”

“Haven’t really thought about it,” Steve said, scoping out good landing spots.

“Haven’t thought-” she sputtered. “You know what, I am dropping you.”

She set him down on the spot he’d been eyeing and blasted away to deal with one of the repulsor bots that was taking aim at the helicopter.

Steve grinned and got to work. The smaller Doombots were very fast and well-built. He thought he’d do more good targeting the larger Doombots while Toni’s greater speed and firepower took out the smaller ones.

Hawkeye joined them on the field soon: arrows were flying straight into Doombot joints and crevices.

“Toni, the head’s a decoy,” Hawkeye called “Aim for the belt. Hit the repuslor Doombots on their casing or they’ll just keep shooting once their legs break. Cap, you just carry on. It’s hilarious watching them shoot themselves off your shield.” 

“Cap,” Natasha said “I have confirmation that Doctor Doom is in the city. We can’t detain him, but I can find and deactivate any controller he might have.”

“Proceed,” Cap said.

“This is fun,” Hawkeye said.

Steve had to agree. The Doombots were going down quickly, and there weren’t really many of them.

He found himself in a bubble of calm, and he stopped for a second to evaluate the battle. There were a couple more Doombot stragglers wobbling on compromised joints. Hawkeye had gotten to them. Toni was circling around above them, presumably picking a target.

A repulsor Doombot emerged from among a row of park vehicles and pointed itself in Steve’s direction. Steve raised his shield and braced himself.

“Steve, no,” Toni shouted.

“I’ve got this,” Steve said back.

Instead of the impact on his shield, he felt the Iron Woman armor tackle him from the side and carry him away.

Then an immense sound, and they were crashing into the ground. Steve rolled into a crouch and looked wildly around: The Iron Woman armor was sparking and twitching, and the spot where he had stood was a black pit. The repulsor Doombots were smoking, collapsed wreckages. He saw no enemy approaching. Johnny Storm was flying in to assist them.

“Iron Woman?”

Toni pushed against the ground and attempted to lift herself. He leaned in to help.

“Status report,” he commanded.

The armor collapsed.

.*.*.*.*.*.

The door to Toni’s hospital room opened and Steve's head came up. 

Sure enough, Pepper was there, pale and trembling. She stopped short at the sight of Steve there.

"She's going to be okay," he reassured her.

Pepper sobbed and came forward to bend over Toni.

"I couldn't get here earlier. There was the company, and the press, and lawyers."

"She hasn't woken up yet."

"I had JARVIS keep watch, but-"

She broke off when Toni opened her eyes.

"Toni," Pepper cried.

Steve gave his silent thanks.

Toni looked wildly around until she caught sight of the Stark Industries logo on the wall. Then she smiled at Pepper. "Aren't you supposed to be in Toronto this week?"

"I flew back as soon as I could."

“I thought you loved the Canadian project. Are you skipping out on a meeting with a douchey regional director, because you know you can just fire those. They're bad for productivity."

"I thought you were dead," Pepper breathed. She started shaking.

“Please, I didn’t even break my arc reactor,” Toni said. She gave Pepper a grin.

Pepper didn’t seem to hear her. “The suit powered off and you didn’t get up even when the Avengers kept fighting and-”

"Pep," Toni began, smile still in place, but soothing rather than distracting now. 

Steve got up to leave as Pepper took a deep shuddering breath. There was a quiet exchange that Steve had turned his back to, and he heard Toni whispering "I know, I know," until he closed the door behind him.

He took a few deep breaths. Leaned against a wall. Then he remembered his teammates were waiting for the call and hastily turned on his communicator.

“Cap here,” he said.

He was not surprised when every one of the Avengers immediately responded. JARVIS had insisted on having Toni taken to the medical facility in Stark Tower, rather than a regular hospital. It made sense, Steve supposed, given Toni’s unique medical care needs, but it also meant that most of the Avengers were barred from the waiting room. Steve had had to fight his way in and SI security had only relented when Bruce came around and supported him.

“Toni’s awake,” he told them.

He heard exhales.

Clint cursed and said, “She has got to stop pulling this kamikaze shit.”

Steve privately, and fervently, agreed. “Ms. Potts is here talking with her now. I’ll let you know if anything changes”

“Thanks, Cap,” Bruce said.

Steve turned off his communicator and went back to staring at the wall. And then pushed himself away from it when Pepper reappeared in the hallway and began striding towards the exit.

"You're leaving?" He couldn't help but ask.

"I need to…rearrange matters at the company. I have to go tell the shareholders that Toni Stark is not dying."

“I’m sorry about this,” Steve said. He couldn’t help but feel responsible anytime any of his soldiers came home injured.

Pepper gave him a tight smile. “It was her choice.” 

“I wish-”

“It doesn’t matter,” Pepper said flatly. “Toni does what she thinks is right. It doesn’t even matter what Captain America-” Steve flinched. Pepper stopped herself, shook her head, and stared ahead at nothing. “I have to go now.”

“Goodbye,” Steve said.

Pepper nodded and went on her way.

Steve hesitated after Pepper disappeared. It was probably time he went home. He couldn’t get himself to walk away. He walked into Toni’s room and closed the door behind him.

“Don’t sit up,” he said. “Your ribs were cracked.”

She wrinkled her nose, face pale, and gave up the effort. “I know, I can feel them knitting back together. How did that even happen? Was that the impact point? Was the suit’s cushioning damaged? That’s going to be a pain in the ass to repair.”

She waited until Steve sat by her bed.

"Cap? How bad did it look?”

He met her eyes. "The armor electrocuted you and shut off. A panel on your stomach buckled in. You lost a lot of blood before we could get every piece off of you. Even with Extremis, it was a close call."

Toni didn't react while he spoke, eyes steady.

"Blood loss," she muttered. She frowned at the ceiling. 

He stared at her, at the thoughtfulness of her frown, and his guilt and fear twisted into something closer to anger. Toni was trying to solve a puzzle. How to tweak Extremis, so that next time she injured herself this badly, she wouldn’t end up in the hospital?

“I told you not to engage,” he said, too sharp. Toni tensed, and the sudden spasm had to have hurt. He struggled to modulate his voice “That was an order, and I expect you to follow orders.”

Toni blinked at him, looking faintly perplexed as well as frustrated now. “You didn’t see the one behind you. They would have killed you.”

“How is his killing you any better?” Steve asked. He shook his head. “That was reckless and unnecessary.”

Toni eyes sparked at that, and her chin came up. “You saw the damage, afterward. You think you could have survived that?”

“I had my shield up. The beams wouldn’t have connected. You should have taken one of them out instead of trying to get me out of the way.”

“There wasn’t enough time, and I wasn’t going to watch them vaporize you.”

A beat, and then her eyes left his. She seemed to hold herself still for a moment. That confused some part of him, but this confusion, if anything, added to the surge of anger. Toni was so sincere, so arrogant, in treating battles like equations. Steve closed his eyes and exhaled and tried to calm down. He recognized a dead end to the conversation, in that this was a difference in judgment that they were not going to solve tonight.

The attempt didn’t work. He just saw, more clearly, Toni’s armor going dark and still. Again. And this time, it was just over him.

“You almost died. For me.”

“It wasn’t just for you,” Toni said, sharp and bitter. “He was going to use my weapons, to kill you. I won’t- I refuse to-”

Toni clamped her mouth shut and he recognized the tortured expression on her face. We are not soldiers. He listened until her breathing had slowed down somewhat. It had been a mistake to begin this discussion while Toni was in her hospital bed. 

“Even if we continue this…the Avengers, you’re benched for two weeks,” he said.

“You can’t-” she began.

“Yes, I can,” Steve said. “If this is going to work, you’re going to have to learn to obey orders.”

She took a breath as if to argue some more, and hissed with pain. He took that opening to continue

“I understand that you will need some of that time to rebuild your armor. And if you want to keep Extremis secret, you’ll also have to spend some time pretending to heal.”

“The extent of my injuries is not public knowledge.”

“Are you willing to take that risk?” Steve asked.

Toni looked away from him. He took that as begrudging surrender.

“Goodnight, Toni,” Steve said. He put his motorcycle jacket on and got up to go.

“Don’t tell me you’re going all the way back to Brooklyn tonight,” Toni said. He ignored that, assuming she was muttering to herself out of resentment.

“Hey,” she said, louder.

He turned back to look at her. She seemed to be expecting a reply.

“I’d like to sleep eventually,” he said.

She rolled her eyes. “Just go to my place. You already have your guest room.”

Steve blinked at her and frowned. He really did not understand what Toni was doing. Ever. Not to mention, it had been an exceptionally long day.

Toni looked bored as she continued. “You know you don’t want to deal with the traffic, and Bruce would appreciate the company. He’s a worry wart when I’m not there to provide comic relief.”

Steve examined her face, still not quite sure how to respond. She didn’t seem to be joking. If anything, there was an edge of discomfort that he was not used to seeing in her.

“I’ll offer you a deal: I obey the benching command if you help me out.”

He snorted, relaxing somewhat. “Your benching is not up for negotiation.”

Toni relaxed, as well. “Which means babysitting Bruce is? Why is he not here, by the way? If I have to retrieve him from Argentina again-”

“He’s resting. He assisted your team of doctors.”

“I forgive him, then.”

“I’m sure he will be relieved to hear that,” Steve said. Then he wondered how they went from snarling at each other to teasing each other. He concluded he had to really be exhausted.

“Would you be a dear and deliver that message for me?”

He looked pointedly at the phone she had in her hands right then.

“Aww, Cap, I thought you understood the value of doing this the old-fashioned way.”

“Through someone else?” Steve said.

Toni cocked her head, feigning confusion now. “Is that not how the proletariat does things?”

Steve startled himself by laughing, and then he shook his head. Toni allowed herself a victorious little smirk. He was sure that that same smirk would have enraged him in another life. At the moment, he could only feel relief at being able to see it.

“I understood that reference,” he said. If only to give himself more time to puzzle this situation out.

Toni didn’t give him that time. “Come on, you can scold me some more in the morning. It’ll be easier if we’re under the same roof.”

Steve shrugged, and gave in. He really was exhausted. “Thank you, Toni.”


	5. Chapter 5

The stay in medical was relatively painless. Figuratively speaking. Her entire torso hurt every time she breathed, or moved, or…pretty much constantly. Nothing a little distraction wouldn’t overcome. Toni was clear to go home before she’d finished a new design for Hawkeye’s polymer arrows.

She went straight to her workshop to replace her arc reactor. Then, figuring she might as well work while she was down there, she began taking the armor apart.

Some time later, JARVIS said “Ms. Stark? Captain Rogers would like to speak to you.”

“Oh,” Toni said. She sighed. “What time is it?”

“Seven thirty-four.”

“Tell him I’ll be right up.”

She met him at the top of the stairs from her workshop. Her ribs started stinging again from the exertion but she’d felt silly using the elevator for one flight of stairs.

She kept her tone light and unconcerned. Toni knew better than to believe their argument was over simply because they had parted amicably. “What’s up, Cap?”

Steve seemed taken aback. He frowned at her clothing, and Toni tried to stifle a sense of irritation. Would it kill him to hide his disapproval?

“Did you work through the night?”

“I…guess? It happens sometimes. I don’t get the usual exhaustion cues anymore, so unless I pay attention…”

He shook his head, still looking troubled. Her eyes skittered away his. She tucked her hands into her pockets when they wanted to cross over her chest.

“You wanted to speak to me?” she prompted. Polite. Blank.

Steve nodded, hesitated, and glanced back in the direction of the living room. Oh, goodie. He wanted a sit-down conversation. She began walking there, because she was a moron who walked willingly into clear traps. Steve followed her and waited until they were seated facing each other to speak again.

“I wanted to thank you for letting me stay here tonight.”

“Yeah, no problem,” she said. She waited

“And I spoke to Bruce this morning,” he said.

“Yeah?”

“I was trying to understand…” he stopped and exhaled with something like frustration “We talked about yesterday, about your work with Extremis, why we had to go to your own medical facility instead of the nearest hospital.”

She resisted the urge to fidget with her phone. Instead, she made herself mentally begin plans for a new medical transport.

“JARVIS is a loyal little stick in the mud,” she said. She had tried for a comforting tone but she knew it probably sounded smug.

Steve nodded. “Bruce helped me understand your sense of responsibility for your creations. When they’re potentially destructive. It reminded me of Dr. Erksine. How they still haven’t managed to decipher his notes or recreate the Serum.”

“I thought you were already on board with that,” she said. They’d started this particular project with an extended conversation featuring Director Fury, after all. He’d sworn to secrecy and she did not think Steve was the kind of person who swore in vain. “I was pretty explicit about my priorities there, Cap.”

“It’s different. Knowing you’d die to protect your secrets, versus watching you die for them.”

She fought back the spike of panic, the fear of having made a mistake in trusting someone, of having been wrong again.

“But that’s not really fair to you,” Steve concluded. “I agreed to support you in this. I made a promise.”

“And Captain America keeps his promises,” Toni said.

“Yes, he does,” Steve said, sounding tired. “It was irresponsible of me to make that promise, when I didn’t fully understand the repercussions.”

Toni regarded him. Steve met her eyes evenly. Nothing but calm and determination. 

“Toni, I respect your decisions. I will keep my promise. But, going forward…your life is worth more than your secrets.”

“I don’t agree, when saving my life means putting more lives in danger,” she said plainly “Neither do you, or neither of us would be in armor. Uniform, costume, whatever.”

“Up to a point,” Steve said. “Your armor is supposed to protect you, not the other way around. Having you here, fighting those dangers with us, is worth more.”

Toni considered that. Steve was warning her that he was drawing a line, but she wasn’t sure what that line was, in practice. The fact that she was unsure but not frantic was, and this was appalling to her, symptomatic of a deep trust in him and his judgment. A very unscientific trust, with very little experience to back it. She tried to reach for the paranoia within herself. Instead, she decided that it had been noble of him to warn her, and overall very in-character for Captain America.

“You’re surprisingly devious,” she accused.

“Can’t be devious unless it’s surprising,” Steve said.

“Point. And it’s surprising because you’re generally Mr. Honorable. Our knight in spangly armor. Those superspies have been a bad influence.”

“They taught me some neat tricks,” Steve agreed.

Toni snorted. “Alright, message received. I hope you’re taking notes here, JARVIS. Captain America’s spending time with shadowy government organizations has resulted in him acquiring an ominous new skill set. It may or may not include the ability and propensity to stab me in the neck and gossip about my textbook narcissism. I’m keeping an eye on you. Is that all?”

Steve frowned at that, because of course he did.

“Look, Toni, I’m sorry. I should have said this earlier.”

“What? Oh, I wasn’t-”

“No, it’s about time I apologized. I’m sorry about what I said when we first met.”

“It’s fine, really, I’m sorry too, and I was equally wrong-”

Steve continued. “I was entirely wrong about you. You’ve proven that time and time again.” 

Toni shrank away from his sincerity and the warm intensity in his gaze and the way it made her feel helplessly open and seen.

Steve paused, added wryly. “I wish you would stop proving me wrong in this particular way.”

Toni crossed her arms in front of her chest, even though she was a little relieved. This, she could deal with. She groused, “This again?”

Steve winced. Toni winced.

Time to run. She got up with, “I’ll work on the not-dying thing, promise, it’s a very popular project, you have no idea, but it’s an engineering conundrum. So very many moving parts and -”

Steve got up with her.

“No, what I wanted to say is…thank you. I realize I never…not that I necessarily think-”

She found herself gaping at him. Steve was taking her on a goddamn emotional rollercoaster. “What?”

“Thank you for making the effort to save my life.”

She raised her eyebrows. She couldn’t help it. Steve was expressing approval in her as a person and also her actions, when she’d fully expected a thorough scolding. “Despite the insubordination?”

“Don’t take this as encouragement,” he said, “I do mean what I said. I just thought, in hindsight, that it was bad manners on my part. Maybe some hypocrisy and good old-fashioned foot-in-my-mouth.”

“So…” A tentative chuckle escaped her. “Thank you for saving my life, Stark, never do it again?”

She met his eyes and smiled at him, because she was feeling relieved and slightly amused. He blushed and rocked back on his heels.

He still fought back with, “I keep hearing how smart you are. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

She laughed, because Captain America was sassy when he was cornered.

“Got it, Cap.” She gave him a sloppy salute. “For what it’s worth…I could have done that better, I-” she stopped. It was useless to think about what she could have done better. What mattered was that she hadn’t done better. She took a deep breath, gritted her teeth – even her ribs knew she was a fuckup – and said. “I’ll rethink my performance today, promise.”

“That’s all I’m asking,” Cap said. Then, more quietly, “I don’t want more people dying on me.”

“Good talk. I have to go get ready for meetings now but I’ll see you next time.”

“Bye, Toni,” Steve said. She ignored how sad it sounded. She would do better next time.

.*.*.*.*.*.

The next few days were a blur of Stark Industries meetings, armor repairs, and dinners with important people. The Avengers went out a couple of times, sans Iron Woman, to deal with some magical nonsense and an episode with stolen alien tech. Toni kept an eye on both missions in case she was needed, but the truth was that she was almost glad she was benched those first frantic couple of weeks. She spent very little time sleeping. Toni always did better schmoozing if she wasn’t all there anyway, and people whispered less if she avoided alcohol. Everyone already thought she was insane for joining a superhero team: as reputable as she’d been lately, they would not look too closely at an off-balance Toni Stark.

She was at a charity gala when she heard a name that broke through the haze.

Janet van Dyne

Toni blinked at the stage, where a petite woman took the microphone, thanked their host, and then winked at Toni in the audience.

Toni threw her a smile and a lifted her glass.

Janet made a beeline for Toni after her speech.

“Toni Stark, benefactor of the arts.”

“Janet van Dyne, benefactor of the sciences,” Toni replied “What are you doing this side of the pond?”

“You really did not read the invitation, did you?” Janet asked, smiling and shaking her head “Some things never change.”

“It’s not my fault you decided to be stylish and forgo the party banners. What did I not read?”

“The subtitle was that this is my welcome back party. We’re neighbors now.”

“Why didn’t you call ahead?”

Janet raised her eyebrows. “Toni, I called three times. I suppose my voicemails got redirected to the box of things that aren’t Stark Industries crisis or Avengers-related.”

“That seems likely,” Toni admitted. “Okay, that, I will apologize for.”

“I accept your apology if I can have a meeting with you and the Avengers.”

“There is no real-”

“There will be,” Jan said. She sounded certain. Toni let her have that.

“Why? You know Thor is still on his honeymoon, right? And that he’s super taken?”

Janet rolled her eyes before Toni could offer to set her up with Captain America.

“Or…is this about our costumes?” Toni considered the costumes from the perspective of a fashion designer “I see your point.”

“This is serious, Toni.” Janet accompanied the statement with a faint frown.

Toni tilted her head at her. “Could you give me a hint, here?”

Janet bit her lip. “It’s something I’ve been working on since the New York invasion,” she said.

“Ah,” Toni said, mentally reviewing the list of laboratories funded by the van Dyne family. “Alright, I’ll talk to Cap about penciling you in.”

Janet’s face cleared, and she smiled.

Toni reflected on that interaction, after the fact. Regardless of the type of relationship Janet van Dyne wanted with the Avengers, her attention was not trivial. Janet, like Toni, had always had a keen sense for change, for patterns and turning points. The things Toni and Janet did with this talent were very different. Janet was not a scientist. But Janet was, in her own way, leading the march towards the future as much as Toni was.

And Janet van Dyne believed in the Avengers.

.*.*.*.*.*.

When she’d half-agreed to be part of the Avengers, Toni had expected the work to mostly consist of cleaning up AIM, jet around the world taking down Hydra, and maybe deal with the occasional alien tech incident. But the people of New York seemed to have realized that the Avengers were more reliable than the X-Men and less likely to create a rift in reality than the Fantastic Four. They became the city’s first choice when it came to dealing with mad scientists, angry mutants, magical monsters, and fucking REED RICHARDS.

Toni crawled out of bed the morning after a nighttime mission, demanded that coffee be prepared, made herself somewhat presentable, and headed straight for the coffee pot in the kitchen. The team had agreed to postpone the briefing until the morning, so she had invited them all to stay in their “guest rooms” again.

"I'm so sick of these goddamn murderous bastards," Tony whined, stretching her shoulders out while she waited for the coffee.

The armor had made it through the last mission unscathed, but she’d had to perform some particularly acrobatic flying. SHIELD had attempted to intercept a shipment of alien technology contraband in a warehouse outside of town. They’d called in the Avengers to deal with the hired muscle, a group of goons who called themselves the Wrecking Crew. That’s when the heat-seeking missiles were launched, and, once the Wrecking Crew was down, the sleeping gas. Toni’d had to catch Clint and Natasha out of midair after dealing with the missiles. Then she and Steve had made short work of the rest of the operation, or rather, Steve had taken down most of the rest of the operation while Toni flew Clint and Natasha to safety.

"Would you like me to search for an alternative to your current career? Such as, perhaps, head of Research and Development for Stark Industries?"

"No, then I'd just be a kidnapping target," Toni said as she grabbed a mug and finally reunited with the second-greatest love of her life, coffee. The first being engineering.

"Your work for the Avengers certainly exposes you to a great degree of danger than a job in research and development,” JARVIS pointed out.

"True, but there's more dignity in this,” she said.

"I did not realize dignity was still a factor in your decision making.”

Toni grinned because that was plain catty.

JARVIS was silent then, and she looked up to see Steve coming in, plainly to grab breakfast after a run.

“Morning, Toni!” He grinned at her, all blue eyes and flushed cheeks and alert posture.

She scowled at him. “Stop shining with vitality at me. How can you possibly- how do you have the energy for this? After that mission?”

“With a balanced diet and a regular sleep schedule, you too can achieve your fitness goals!” Steve said, just like in the health education programs.

Youths. She curled around her coffee and muttered to herself. “I don’t think that’s my problem. I was pretty athletic last night”

She smirked to herself but it was fine because Steve had turned away to serve himself coffee and didn’t see it.

“You did some good work, Toni. Well done.”

She blinked. Praise again. Genuine praise. It was too early in the morning for complicated emotions. “Thanks.”

Steve turned to look at her again with a gentle smile. Then he ducked his head and shifted in place.

She wondered what kind of post-workout benefit that could have before she realized. Oh. Steve was fidgeting.

“Steve?”

He looked up at her, his blue eyes guarded but hopeful.

She smiled at him encouragingly and ignored the way her heart sped up. “Everything alright?”

Steve bit his lip, and she jerked her eyes away from his face. “I have a question,” Steve said.

She looked back at him warily, and he blurted out. “Can we make the Avengers real?”

She gaped at him. Part of her wanted to say that they were already real. The other part of her had been clinging to the idea that they weren’t.

“I mean, a real, formal team. Not just freelance work for SHIELD, or the Fantastic Four.” As their missions had legally been designated. “Our own, independent team.”

She gaped at him some more. He dropped his gaze, looking somewhat embarrassed.

“We don’t have to. I know you were against the idea, but I thought-”

“No, you’re right,” Toni said. She could have slapped a hand to her own face. She sighed. Her ability to shelter herself in denial was her real superpower. “We’ll have to talk to the rest of the team, of course.”

“We have a team meeting conveniently scheduled for this morning,” Steve said. “I know it’s soon.”

“The sooner we get the paperwork started, the better,” she said. “You have no idea how slowly lawyers can work.”

“So…yes?”

“Yes, Steve,” she said. He grinned back.

“Would you please tell the team we’ll have the meeting as soon as we’re all in order?”

“Aye, aye, Cap. But you know scheduling is not my forte.”

His smile became less warm, more amused. “I was asking JARVIS.”

“Consider it done, Captain Rogers,” JARVIS said.

“Teacher’s pet,” she muttered.

Less than an hour later, once everyone was done milling around in the kitchen, they headed for the big oval dining room table. Toni noted with some amusement that they’d left the seat to the right of Steve open for her even though she’d gone back for more coffee.

“Thank you for convening,” Steve began “I thought we should discuss potential changes, going forward. The first order of business is to ask whether we should make the Avengers a formal crisis response team.”

For some reason, everyone glanced at Toni and then hastily away. Clearly she had been the hold-up here. Steve really was a strategic genius, despite his fidgeting.

“I say we go for it,” she said. “That way Richards and Fury can stop taking credit for our victories.”

She glanced at Bruce, who smiled at her.

“I’m happy to help when I can,” Bruce said.

“I’m in,” Clint said.

“Me too,” Natasha said.

Steve grinned. “I’m sure you’re all aware that Thor made contact with us after our battle with Doctor Doom. He’d be happy to join the team now that Dr. Foster’s research abroad has ended. Everyone in favor?”

Nods all around.

“ ‘bout time he got his lazy ass back to work,” Clint noted.

Toni wondered whether Mjolnir was immune to Magneto. On one hand, she really enjoyed the mental image of Magneto, getting hit in the face with a hammer he thought he was summoning. He was certainly not worthy. On the other hand, magic was a perversion of everything she held dear.

“Good. I’ll confirm with him but I believe he’s already on his way. We should also invite War Machine as a reserve member.”

“What about,” Toni began “an invitation to be a military liaison? Rhodey is really attached to his career. He’s boring like that. Also, I have found that negotiations between Iron Woman and the military are more successful when Colonel Rhodes is in the room. The Avengers could use that.”

“Would that interfere with his ability to join us, when he is needed?”

“Not in practice. Or…not so much that it’s worth sacrificing that advantage. The military is really really pedantic about titles. They want it down on paper that the War Machine is loyal to them.”

“Is he?” Clint asked.

“Are you loyal to SHIELD?”

Clint considered that. “Fair,” he said.

Steve took charge again. “All in favor, then?” he waited for their nods. “Good. We’ll have to schedule some training together when they’re available. Yes, Toni?”

“While we’re on the subject of recruitment, what about Janet van Dyne? She came in the other day to demonstrate some very interesting technology. JARVIS, share your dossier on her and pull up the video?”

Natasha flicked through the dossier on her tablet. “She wasn’t even on SHIELD’s radar, except as a figure in your past.”

“You used a past-tense there,” Toni pointed out.

“She was just another socialite in the Starks’ social circle. But she takes a personal interest in some of the science projects she funds, and those were worthy of SHIELD’s attention.”

“That’s the cue for the video,” Toni said.

JARVIS dimmed the lights and the video began play. It began when Toni and Jan entered the combat training room.

“I have always had an interest in martial arts and gymnastics,” Janet explained as she warmed up “but after the invasion of New York City, I decided to try something new. Dr. Hank Pym-”

“Hank Pym?” Toni whined. “Ugh. That loser?”

“You know, he admires you.”

“He is horrified by my very existence. Always has been.”

“He had a crush on you.”

“A misogynist asshole crush. The only way he could get over a girl being smarter than him was by putting her on his spankbank pedestal.”

Steve coughed. Toni decided it was cute.

Janet sighed. “Well, he created the Pym particles. Try to remember I’m the one petitioning to join the team, not him.”

Then she seemed to disappear with a “whoosh” sound. Janet waited for Toni to catch sight of her again, and flew through a course JARVIS improvised, zapping targets and somersaulting through the air, coming in and out of her miniature size form as needed for the challenges. The cameras had trouble tracking her, she was moving so fast.

Toni called the end of the demonstration, and Janet came back to her regular form, landing in front of her with a bow, like an Olympic gymnast.

The video cut off.

“Where does the mass go?” Toni asked Bruce as soon as the video was over. She resented having to ask.

Bruce simply shook his head at Toni.

“I think we should let her in,” Clint voted. “She probably has stories from Toni’s past I’d like to hear.”

“She was the golden girl, she wasn’t there for the good stuff,” Toni said with a roll of her eyes.

“She would be excellent at reconnaissance work and close combat,” Natasha said.

Steve considered Natasha’s statement. “I worry about how she would handle a combat situation. Everyone else has been under fire. She’s a civilian, physical powers or not.”

Toni wrinkled her nose briefly. Captain America’s military bias was showing. “I turned out fine,” she noted.

Bruce patted her shoulder.

“I can evaluate her,” Natasha offered.

“How about,” Toni countered “a training period where she can gain fighting experience? Natasha still gets to do her psychoanalyzing thing, but this way, it’s…it’s ethical.”

“That works,” Natasha agreed.

Steve nodded. “Natasha, I’d appreciate your assistance in hand-to-hand combat training for Ms. van Dyne.”

“Of course,” Natasha said.

“Thank you. Well, we should get to the debrief now,” Steve said.

“If I may?” Natasha asked, and they all turned to her. “I have an alliance to propose, with SHIELD.”

Toni opened her mouth.

“We don’t have to work under them, but we need, at the very least, to maintain open communication with them. We need the institution. It’s not something we can build, and it’s not something even you can buy. It’s not in the US government’s interest to do so when they can fit us into an existing institution.

Bruce began fidgeting and Toni scowled at Natasha. Natasha, undeterred, kept speaking.

“SHIELD’s resources, experience, and work history are complementary to our work. And there is a potential SHIELD liaison whom I, and Agent Barton, trust with our lives- Agent Phil Coulson.” She met Toni’s eyes. “You know Agent Coulson will do right by us.”

Steve looked at Toni and hesitated. Whatd’ya know; Captain America was taking Toni Stark’s opinion into account.

“Can we work with them in a way that wouldn’t have the potential to compromise us?”

Toni sighed and considered the issue. “Yeah. Yeah, I think, if we establish some procedure for cooperation. We can look at what the Fantastic Four are doing.”

Toni looked at Bruce next. “I can keep us safe.”

Bruce gave her a faint smile. “I trust you.”

Toni relaxed somewhat and nodded. “But! And this is a deal-breaker for me, I mean this. They don’t lay a hand on my tech. I don’t even want their minions retrieving arrows for Hawkeye. If we accept their medical treatment, they’ll get a look at our bodysuits eventually. I’m not going to be an asshole about that, but can we agree to have Stark Tower be our first choice, when we have the luxury of choice?”

Toni paused. “I’m working on a transport for us so we can ditch the stupid loud helicopter. I doubt we’ll ever have to resort to anything else, once that is ready.”

“All in favor of requesting Agent Coulson as a SHIELD liaison?” Steve asked.

The team agreed.

“Ooh, I bet Fury’s gonna love that,” Toni said with relish. A liaison. For his Avengers Initiative.

“I nominate Stark to tell him,” Barton said. “Since she enjoys the idea so much.”

Toni grinned. She loved a dare, and it had all been Fury’s idea to drag her into the team anyway. “Oh, you shouldn’t have. I didn’t get you a present.”


	6. Chapter 6

As if the universe were celebrating the formation of the Avengers, it threw aliens at them again. Toni had fought the battle dutifully and then run straight to an emergency therapy session.

“I don’t know why it was different this time,” she told her therapist. “I think…I think maybe it was the fact that it wasn’t me or the world this time. I could leave if I wanted to and my team would…No, because I wouldn’t leave my team. I don’t know.”

Her therapist smiled. And when Toni went silent, she noted, “You used to call them Fury’s team. And now you call them your team.”

“Huh. Whatdya know.”

She considered it, considered how right it felt. ‘My team.’

“I guess…when Steve asked, I realized- I didn’t want to say no. Steve said once that going through things together builds trust. I see what he means, and-” here she pointed at her therapist sternly. “It’s not just Stockholm syndrome.”

Her therapist nodded, encouraging.

“They have my back, but it’s more than that. We’re all fighting for the same thing, right? And they’re dedicated. They’re willing to do what it takes. And it’s such a relief! I’m not alone, and I’m not the only thing standing between the alien army and the world.”

“You never have been,” her therapist reminded her.

Toni knew that, intellectually, but, emotionally… “I know that now,” she said.

She thought of the desperate, lost, battle in New York, the gaping hole in the sky, and her decision to carry death through it, to save her world one last time. Or, rather, as she had realized upon beholding the other side of the portal, to give her world just a little more time. 

It would never not be a nightmarish collection of memories, but it felt like purpose rather than a paralyzing burden, now.

“This is what I was meant to do,” Toni said. The realization filled her with something like peace.

.*.*.*.*.*.

She had a private dinner with Pepper that same night. Pepper did not say it, but Toni knew she had cancelled other plans to make it happen. Just in case Toni needed the support. She’d seemed pleasantly surprised to find Toni chattering excitedly instead, but her smile had flickered out as the night went on. Toni watched her carefully and tried to find a way to rekindle that smile.

“You’re- you’re really committed to the Avengers,” Pepper observed.

“Yeah, I’m really liking having a team around me.”

“And you’re expanding the team,” Pepper said.

“Technically it’s just one new member.”

“That new member is Janet van Dyne. And Thor is staying in New York for the foreseeable future.”

“It only took another alien invasion to make that happen. Well, less an invasion than a violent reconnaissance expedition, but-”

“What is happening with the world?” Pepper breathed.

Toni chose to take that as a literal question. Pepper liked situations she could understand. “We think Loki might be making friends somehow. That or his light show brought us to the attention of hostile parties. Dr. Dicks says there’s been an uptick in activity that has required intervention by the Fantastic Four.”

Plus, SHIELD’s fall had brought some existing and ongoing threats to public attention. Bruce, Jane Foster, Richard Reeds, and Toni had held a series of teleconferences to re-examine records from recent natural disasters. That had been a fun week.

“So yes, we have a delivery of thunder god arriving soon,” Toni said. “It’s nice. I love Thor. He's a simple guy with simple needs."

"Please don't develop a crush on the Asgardian envoy," Pepper said, reaching for the familiar ground with palpable relief.

"Are you jealous or is legal advice from my CEO?"

Pepper didn't dignify that with a verbal response. She just shot Toni an unimpressed look.

"Both, then,” Toni said, because she did not like the direction in which the conversation had been going. “That's not a bad mental image, but I'm currently in an intellectual space race with Doctor Foster and I don't want to give her another reason to embrace her supervillain potential."

"You mean she's better at astrophysics than you are and you're attempting to catch up."

"That is such a bad lie and nobody’s going to believe it. If you really thought anyone were better than me, you'd be working for them."

"What gave you that idea?"

"You have a drive for success. I noticed this. I made you my CEO because of that," Toni said proudly.

"There's that," Pepper agreed.

Toni's heart throbbed painfully at the pause that followed, but when Pepper attempted to continue speaking, Toni blurted, "Also, Lewis will inevitably join the Foster revolution, and that woman is a deceptively cute Taser-trigger-happy terror." 

Pepper was still looking at Toni. "And you have nothing but admiration of her for that."

"No, I also feel fear. I am confessing a fear to you. You're supposed to be offering support and comfort." 

Pepper looked away, but she was smiling. "No. You need to develop some self-preservation.”

“My psychologist says that I am making strides,” Toni said. Her therapist hadn’t said she was making strides in self-preservation, exactly, but Pepper wasn’t likely to ask follow-up questions.

Pepper took a deep breath. “So you’re really doing this Avengers thing.”

Her lips were pursed and she was looking at the table unhappily.

“Yeah,” Toni confessed, after a minute. “Yeah, this is the next mission. My next mission.”

Pepper’s voice was soft. Full of sorrow rather than accusation. “What about our mission? There’s more than one way to save the world, Toni.”

“The world needs me.”

“It’s true. It needs Toni Stark, not just Iron Woman. I’m not asking you to give that up. I know you can’t- you can’t not defend the world. But you’re going all-in, and there’s no need to do that.”

Toni’s heart rate was kicking up. She looked at Pepper, at her wise, unflinching eyes, and she knew that Pepper was speaking the truth.

Toni’s voice sounded very small and apologetic even to her own ears when she confessed, “I think I need it, though.”

Pepper didn’t blink at that. She just continued looking at Toni with knowing sorrow.

“Listen, Pepper,” Toni said, and she couldn’t continue.

“Yes?” Pepper asked. She did blink at that, as if the change in tone caught her off guard.

Toni stared at her helplessly. “This isn’t what you signed up for.”

For an instant, Toni saw the confusion and fear Pepper was trying to hide. Then Pepper flinched away. And Toni understood. She recognized she’d been a coward to let Pepper suffer this long: she should have broken it off the moment she invited the Avengers into her home.

“We have to break up,” Toni said. Her voice didn’t so much break as crumble.

The pain was worse than palladium poisoning. It was like her chest had been hollowed from the inside out, like it was only her frantic breathing keeping her ribcage in the same shape.

Pepper hunched her shoulders and hugged herself with one arm, as if she felt it too.

“Please don’t hate me,” Toni begged, a hitch in the words.

“Toni,” Pepper objected, bending forward to touch Toni’s face. “I love you. You know that, right?”

Toni swallowed and leaned into the touch. “Yes, I know-”

“I could never hate you. Not for this. Not for anything.” Pepper’s eyes were fierce, even in their unshed tears.

“I donated- your art collection,” Toni said.

Pepper laughed, a small chocked sound. “You drive me crazy sometimes.”

“I’ll buy you a new one.”

Pepper began crying then, the tears spilling over. Toni began crying too, and then they were holding each other.

“I don’t need – Just- just stay alive.”

Toni kissed her hair.

“You’re doing the right thing and-and you shouldn’t have to do it alone.”

“I’m not-”

“And I love you.”

“I love you too. I’m not alone anymore. I have a team. And you deserve better.”

Pepper sobbed out a single cut-off sound. “That’s not what this means-”

“Shh, it doesn’t matter.”

“Yes it does. You’re amazing. You’re a hero. You deserve better too.”

Toni kissed her. And then kissed her forehead. “It’s okay, she said, “It’s okay.”

.*.*.*.*.*.

Toni allowed herself one drunken night and then she got back to work. She held a meeting as soon as she could wrangle the Avengers into her mansion at the same time. Toni was still somehow the last through the door, of course, but it helped to make a dramatic statement when she slapped the magazine down on the table.

“Who wants to help me corrupt a national icon?”

Blank stares, and a snicker from Clint to add insult to the injury.

“Why?” Steve asked.

“She means you,” Clint said.

Steve did not look surprised.

“To restore my honor!”

“Is this a call to quest?” Bruce asked.

“Is this a cry for help?” Natasha asked.

Hmm. Maybe. But it was too late to back out now.

“No, I, A- am I allowed to say it?” she asked Steve.

He looked wry, so rather than wait to be on the receiving end of Captain America sass, she commanded, “Say the thing.”

“I can’t read your mind yet,” he pointed out.

“What kind of team leader are you? Never mind, I’ll take point this once. Avengers, Assemble! There, I said it, you’re contractually obliged to hear me out.”

“I don’t remember that clause,” Bruce said.

“Should have read the fine print, Banner.”

“I’m pretty sure Stark nixed that clause,” Natasha explained. “It was one of her demands upon signing it.”

“I have many demands upon my attention, Ms. ‘Natalie Rushmore,’ you would know,” Toni argued, going so far as to make air quotes. “It’s poor practice to commit my full attention to any one thing. Anyway that’s not the issue. The issue is, the maligning we have to avenge is, this.”

She raised the magazine to eye level.

“Your dress?” Clint asked.

“I dare you,” Toni said.

“No, it’s pretty,” he confessed.

“The real issue is the text, which, ugh, print format. I don’t know why I thought this would be a good idea. JARVIS, a little help?”

She scanned the magazine with her phone, and JARVIS projected the enlarged image onto wall behind her.

“Apparently, we represent two side of America, Cap. I’m wanton glitz and luxury, and you’re wholesome American middle class simplicity. Witness my bedazzled self emerging from my custom car at an event, contrasted with grainy cell phone pictures of you travelling via the subway.”

Everyone looked unconcerned.

Barton asked, “How does this insult your honor? I thought you loved playing up your wanton glitz and luxury.”

“This line. Read it.” She paused. Realized she didn’t feel like waiting. “ ‘The difference is all-American equal opportunity: two heroes can serve on the same team and live vastly different lifestyles -one, as a business mogul, and the other as a veteran. It seems that Stark’s philanthropy draws a line at other heroes.’”

“This is what happens when you refuse to be the face of your philanthropic work,” Janet said.

“Why does everyone have an opinion on the way I live my life and why is it always negative? I am a very successful person!”

“Please,” Barton said. “We all know Pepper’s the one who really runs the show.”

“For a gossip rag, that’s actually poignant social commentary,” Bruce volunteered.

Toni tossed the magazine over her shoulder. JARVIS, always in sync with her, ended the projection. “Whose side are you on? Work with me here. Tell them about all the sweet Stark amenities.”

“Are you inviting us to live in your mansion?” Steve asked carefully.

“Yes. I finished renovating the mansion. Your suites are ready. No more need to eke it out in guest rooms.”

There was a stunned silence, as opposed to an apathetic silence. Toni counted that as a victory.

“You know, most celebrities just adopt orphans or host political dinners,” Clint pointed out.

“You are orphans,” she said. Because Clint was a dick.

Clint shrugged, granting her that. Steve hid his face in his hands. Bruce sighed.

“And I already host political dinners,” Toni said, practically hissing. So many political dinners.

“Since when do you care what people write about you?” Steve asked.

“Why?” Natasha asked simply.

Toni resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Natasha playing dumb was a new low.

“Because,” Toni emphasized, “It’s official. We’re a team now. The world hears ‘team’ and they think people who, you know, work together. That doesn’t mesh with announcements that Janet and I are flying in from Manhattan, Cap is driving up from Brooklyn, and the agents are….” She realized she didn’t know how to finish the sentence. She then decided to not try to- this was it’s own point. Toni ignored the smirk on Clint’s face. “If we want to make the people of New York City safe, we need to present more of a united front. So that when bad guys scope out the map for a target, they’ll remember that we’re also here, and they’ll remember who they’re messing with.”

“So this is a PR stunt,” Clint guessed.

“I’m with Toni here,” Janet said. “Service is not just about the product itself. Symbolism matters.” She waved a delicate hand at Steve. “Why do you think Captain America was used as propaganda instead of a secret weapon?”

They all obligingly looked at Steve, and there was a small smile on his face.

“I think we need to discuss this further,” he said.

She waited.

“But it’s a good idea,” Steve conceded. “And very generous of you. Thank you, Toni.”

“My pleasure, Cap.” Toni grinned, nodded, and looked at Bruce next.

He took the hint. “I’ve lived here for quite a while now. It’s nice and quiet, except for the occasional controlled explosion in the basement. Or run-ins with confused cleaning bots.”

She narrowed her eyes, and Bruce hastily added, “The rec room is practically a small fully-equipped movie theater.”

Clint looked intrigued. “Is there a popcorn machine?”

Toni resisted the urge to joke about bird food, but only because she was selling this. Bird jokes could wait. “Also a fully-equipped gym, shooting range, swimming pool, library, the works. Why don’t you stay for dinner tonight and we’ll tour the facilities?”

“I’m in,” Clint said. “But I expect to be wined and dined.”

“I’ll get you a corsage,” she promised.

Steve and Natasha looked at each other. Natasha let one corner of her mouth curl up.

“It sounds lovely,” Steve said.

.*.*.*.*.*.

Toni forgot the corsage, but seeing her genuine chagrin about it was funnier than any corsage-bestowing performance Steve could imagine. Clint had patted her on the back and delivered a theatrical forgiveness and then they had set out on their house tour.

Steve was still smiling at the memory when he stepped into the room that Toni had designated as his. He stopped in the doorway.

“Welcome to your personal suite, Captain Rogers,” JARVIS said.

The immediate impression was of soft light. He glanced back at the hall, disoriented by the contrast. This was nothing like the guest rooms, or like the glimpses Steve had had of Toni’s personal décor. It was nothing like the apartments SHIELD had set up for him either. He stepped further into the space and tried to take it in. It was…warm. There was something about it that felt welcoming, almost cheerful. He glanced around and noticed the variety of color and texture. The knit throws over the arms of the fabric-covered couch (Toni, he’d noticed, preferred monochromatic leather upholstery). The rough grain of the wooden floor. It was modern, but not sterile.

There was an empty bookshelf along the wall, an easel by the wide window, and a couple of books from New York City museums on the coffee table.

“JARVIS, when was that article published?”

“This weekend, sir.”

“And how long did these renovations take?”

“I am not at liberty to say, sir.”

He walked further into the space, and then walked into the door across the room. It was a small, cozy, bedroom. The dimensions would not have been out of place in a comfortable Brooklyn apartment, but the décor coordinated with that of the sitting room. It felt like home. Without being a set piece.

“Did Toni ask you not to tell us?”

“Ms. Stark prefers not to disclose the timelines of some of her projects. She said she ‘has a reputation to maintain.’ I did not inquire which aspect of her reputation she was protecting.”

Steve moved on. The door of the restroom was open.

“Do you have a guess?” Steve asked.

“If I were to ask, I suspect she would complain about board members who are more impressed when there are fewer generations of prototypes.”

“Right,” Steve said, and then he saw the print displayed prominently in the restroom: a World War Two-era recruitment ad featuring scantily clad lustful young men. He laughed.

.*.*.*.*.*.

“Incoming call from an unknown number, Ms. Stark.”

“Unknown, huh?” Toni mused. She thought about the likely callers. “Send them to voicemail.”

She went back to work.

A minute later, JARVIS said, “Incoming call from SHIELD, Ms. Stark.”

“Put it through,” she said.

“I am not in the goddamn mood, Stark,” Fury said.

“Not in the mood to play games? Is this not Director Fury I’m speaking to?”

“Two of my best agents just renegotiated their contracts and applied for off-premise housing.”

“I’m sure there are resources out there for empty-nesters like you,” Toni said.

“Oh, I have resources, all right,” he threatened.

She snorted, and hoped the speakers caught it. “You said you weren’t in the mood to play, Nicky-poo.”

His pause at her insolence was gratifying.

“Look, I have work to do, you have plots to carry out, and this is just your follow-through performance anyway. You played me. Like a sock puppet.”

Fury didn’t respond, probably because he was feeling too smug to be convincing.

“I think I deserve an apology. There was some excess force used.”

“I was short on time. You were ready to bolt.”

“So you verbally tase me?” And, having said that out loud, she was a little embarrassed about the surprise in her voice.

“I do what needs to be done.”

“You are one remorseless son of a dick.”

“And you’re flightier and more high-strung than a racehorse. But for what it’s worth, you’re a racehorse I’m willing to bet on.”

“That was practically sappy. It’s like you’re trying to win my forgiveness.”

“I don’t need your forgiveness,” he said “Just your cooperation.”

“And speaking of your control issues, were you expecting the Avengers mansion component? Was that a gamble? If not, I am honored, Director.”

“Don’t kid yourself, Stark. My agents were a package deal with Rogers. If anyone can keep you in line, he can.”

“What makes you think he’s interested in keeping me in line?”

“At the very least, he’ll be the immovable object to your unstoppable force,” Fury replied, a little too smoothly.

Toni frowned into space, and then shrugged.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Toni said.

“Goodnight to you too,” Fury said, and hung up.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> I love kudos and/or comments. They make my day, and inspire me to write more.


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